choke up
Britishverb
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to block (a drain, pipe, etc) completely
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informal (usually passive) to overcome (a person) with emotion, esp without due cause
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Block a channel or other passage, as in Vegetation choked up the creek like a dam . [Late 1600s]
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Be too emotional or upset to speak, as in She became so emotional about winning that she choked up and was unable to give an interview .
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Become too nervous or tense in a critical situation to perform, as in He's fine during practice but in a match he tends to choke up . This usage, also put as to choke alone, is especially common in sports. [ Colloquial ; mid-1900s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Future players brought their hands together but often choked up to have more bat control.
Mexican Secretary of Defense Ricardo Trevilla Trejo choked up at a Monday press conference in Mexico City as he paid homage to the 25 Mexican National Guardsmen who lost their lives on Sunday.
While at times the show has caused me to choke up slightly, I find myself more so tearful that the magic of my kids’ childhoods is passing by.
At Thanksgiving dinner after Pa said grace, Ma choked up and got tears in her eyes.
From Literature
“I got a little choked up when they let me know, because it’s a big responsibility,” he said.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
