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 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: {gag}, {fret}]
     3: wring the neck of; "The man choked his opponent" [syn: {scrag}]
     4: constrict (someone's) throat and keep from breathing [syn: {strangle}]
     5: struggle for breath; have insufficient oxygen intake; "he
        swallowed a fishbone and gagged" [syn: {gag}, {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}, {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}]
     10: become stultified, suppressed, or stifled; "He is
         suffocating--living at home with his aged parents in the
         small village" [syn: {suffocate}]
     11: suppress the development, creativity, or imagination of;
         "His job suffocated him" [syn: {suffocate}]
     12: die; "The old man finally kicked the bucket" [syn: {kick the
         bucket}, {cash in one's chips}, {buy the farm}, {conk}, {give-up
         the ghost}, {drop dead}, {pop off}, {croak}, {snuff it}]
     13: reduce the air supply; "choke a carburetor" [syn: {throttle}]
     14: cause to retch or choke [syn: {gag}]
Source: WordNet® 2.0

choke v. 1. [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 `#define's." See {barf}, {gag},
   {vi}. 2. [MIT] More generally, to fail at any endeavor, but with some
   flair or bravado; the popular definition is "to snatch defeat from the
   jaws of victory."


Source: The Jargon File