throttle
Americannoun
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Also called throttle lever. a lever, pedal, handle, etc., for controlling or manipulating a throttle valve.
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the throat, gullet, or windpipe, as of a horse.
verb (used with object)
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to stop the breath of by compressing the throat; strangle.
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to choke or suffocate in any way.
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to compress by fastening something tightly around.
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to silence or check as if by choking.
His message was throttled by censorship.
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Machinery.
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to obstruct or check the flow of (a fluid), as to control the speed of an engine.
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to reduce the pressure of (a fluid) by passing it from a smaller area to a larger one.
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idioms
noun
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Also called: throttle valve. any device that controls the quantity of fuel or fuel and air mixture entering an engine
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an informal or dialect word for throat
verb
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to kill or injure by squeezing the throat
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to suppress
to throttle the press
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to control or restrict (a flow of fluid) by means of a throttle valve
Other Word Forms
- throttler noun
- unthrottled adjective
Etymology
Origin of throttle
1350–1400; (v.) Middle English throtelen, frequentative of throten to cut the throat of (someone), strangle, derivative of throat; (noun) probably diminutive of Middle English throte throat; compare German Drossel
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.
“You never know what the body throttles back,” Treinen said earlier in camp.
From Los Angeles Times
But the engines are capable of recovering energy at 350kw, and do so when a driver has lifted off the throttle.
From BBC
The uncompromising approach of the world's self-described "coolest dictator" has apparently caused little outrage in a region throttled by organized crime.
From Barron's
It wants a rollback of existing tariffs as well as a reprieve from export controls on U.S. technology that have throttled the Chinese tech sector.
These include recovering while at full throttle, known as "super-clip", and lifting and coasting, as well as the standard method, during braking.
From BBC
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.
