The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Choke \Choke\, v. i.
   1. To have the windpipe stopped; to have a spasm of the
      throat, caused by stoppage or irritation of the windpipe;
      to be strangled.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To be checked, as if by choking; to stick.
      [1913 Webster]

            The words choked in his throat.       --Sir W.
                                                  Scott.
      [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Choke \Choke\, n.
   1. A stoppage or irritation of the windpipe, producing the
      feeling of strangulation.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. (Gun.)
      (a) The tied end of a cartridge.
      (b) A constriction in the bore of a shotgun, case of a
          rocket, etc.
          [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Choke \Choke\ (ch[=o]k), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Choked; p. pr. &
   vb. n. Choking.] [OE. cheken, choken; cf. AS. [=a]ceocian
   to suffocate, Icel. koka to gulp, E. chincough, cough.]
   1. To render unable to breathe by filling, pressing upon, or
      squeezing the windpipe; to stifle; to suffocate; to
      strangle.
      [1913 Webster]

            With eager feeding food doth choke the feeder.
                                                  --Shak.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To obstruct by filling up or clogging any passage; to
      block up. --Addison.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. To hinder or check, as growth, expansion, progress, etc.;
      to stifle.
      [1913 Webster]

            Oats and darnel choke the rising corn. --Dryden.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. To affect with a sense of strangulation by passion or
      strong feeling. "I was choked at this word." --Swift.
      [1913 Webster]

   5. To make a choke, as in a cartridge, or in the bore of the
      barrel of a shotgun.
      [1913 Webster]

   To choke off, to stop a person in the execution of a
      purpose; as, to choke off a speaker by uproar.
      [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

choke
    n 1: a coil of low resistance and high inductance used in
         electrical circuits to pass direct current and attenuate
         alternating current [syn: choke, choke coil, choking
         coil]
    2: a valve that controls the flow of air into the carburetor of
       a gasoline engine
    v 1: breathe with great difficulty, as when experiencing a
         strong emotion; "She choked with emotion when she spoke
         about her deceased husband"
    2: be too tight; rub or press; "This neckband is choking the
       cat" [syn: choke, gag, fret]
    3: wring the neck of; "The man choked his opponent" [syn:
       choke, scrag]
    4: constrict (someone's) throat and keep from breathing [syn:
       choke, strangle]
    5: struggle for breath; have insufficient oxygen intake; "he
       swallowed a fishbone and gagged" [syn: gag, choke,
       strangle, suffocate]
    6: fail to perform adequately due to tension or agitation; "The
       team should have won hands down but choked, disappointing the
       coach and the audience"
    7: check or slow down the action or effect of; "She choked her
       anger"
    8: become or cause to become obstructed; "The leaves clog our
       drains in the Fall"; "The water pipe is backed up" [syn:
       clog, choke off, clog up, back up, congest,
       choke, foul] [ant: unclog]
    9: impair the respiration of or obstruct the air passage of;
       "The foul air was slowly suffocating the children" [syn:
       suffocate, stifle, asphyxiate, choke]
    10: become stultified, suppressed, or stifled; "He is
        suffocating--living at home with his aged parents in the
        small village" [syn: suffocate, choke]
    11: suppress the development, creativity, or imagination of;
        "His job suffocated him" [syn: suffocate, choke]
    12: pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and
        functions necessary to sustain life; "She died from cancer";
        "The children perished in the fire"; "The patient went
        peacefully"; "The old guy kicked the bucket at the age of
        102" [syn: die, decease, perish, go, exit, pass
        away, expire, pass, kick the bucket, cash in one's
        chips, buy the farm, conk, give-up the ghost, drop
        dead, pop off, choke, croak, snuff it] [ant: be
        born]
    13: reduce the air supply; "choke a carburetor" [syn: choke,
        throttle]
    14: cause to retch or choke [syn: gag, choke]

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (19 January 2023):

choke

    To fail to process input or, more generally, to fail
   at any endeavor.

   E.g. "NULs make System V's "lpr(1)" choke."  See barf,
   gag.

   [Jargon File]

   (2006-09-20)


The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003):

choke
 v.

    [common] To reject input, often ungracefully. “NULs make System V's lpr(1)
    choke.” “I tried building an EMACS binary to use X, but cpp(1) choked
    on all those #defines.” See barf, vi.