choke out

phrasal verb

choked out; choking out; chokes out
: to say (something) with difficulty because of strong emotion
She tearfully choked out an apology.
He just managed to choke a reply out.

Examples of choke out in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Back then Los Angeles was so choked out by smog that visibility dropped to dangerously low levels, and now there are more cars on California roads than ever before. Logan Carter / Jalopnik, Quartz, 21 June 2024 Watch Colin Bridgerton stumbling through breakfast with his family choking out the sentence that yes, Penelope is … a good acquaintance … of … the whole … family. Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 16 May 2024 At the state level, excessive regulations and taxes are choking out small businesses, and the people making money from legal cannabis are the same people who always make money. Mary Jane Gibson, Rolling Stone, 20 Apr. 2024 These plants can choke out native ecosystems and kill off beneficial native plants. Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 19 Apr. 2024 But without state licenses, the shops were playing by their own set of rules — no testing, slapdash labeling, no taxes — which even the staunchest legalization advocates feared could choke out the nascent legal industry. Nicholas Fandos, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2024 The invasive plant prefers full to partial sun, which leads them to choke out the healthy native plants that should be growing instead. Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 28 Mar. 2024 Nemkov choked out Bruno Cappelozza in the second round. Brian Mazique, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2024 Now, big studio comedies seem like an endangered species, choked out by sprawling superhero blockbusters and recycled IP. Devan Coggan, EW.com, 22 June 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'choke out.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Dictionary Entries Near choke out

Cite this Entry

“Choke out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/choke%20out. Accessed 2 Jul. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!