choke up

phrasal verb

choked up; choking up; chokes up

: to have trouble talking because of crying or strong emotion

He chokes up whenever he tries to talk about the accident.

baseball : to move one's hands to a higher position on a baseball bat

—often + on

He choked up on the bat and took a short swing.

Examples of choke up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

The gymnast noticeably choked up and teared up when she was asked about the topic. —

Jackson Thompson, Fox News, 11 Sep. 2024 Outfielder Teoscar Hernández was the most emotional speaker, getting choked up at the end of his first season with the team. —

Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2024 Theory 2: Being Ryle was too much for Baldoni On the red carpet, Baldoni got choked up, thinking about the dark place the film had taken him to. —

Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 14 Aug. 2024 In that interview, Chenoweth also got choked up discussing the casting and her longtime relationship with Grande. —

Lauren Huff, EW.com, 1 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for choke up