strangle

Etymology

From Old French estrangler, from Latin strangulō, strangulāre, from Ancient Greek στραγγαλόομαι (strangalóomai, “to strangle”), from στραγγάλη (strangálē, “a halter”); compare στραγγός (strangós, “twisted”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈstɹæŋ.ɡəl/
• Rhymes: -æŋɡəl

Verb

strangle (third-person singular simple present strangles, present participle strangling, simple past and past participle strangled)

A drawing showing a woman being strangled.

1. (transitive) To kill someone by squeezing the throat so as to cut off the oxygen supply; to choke, suffocate or throttle.

   He strangled his wife and dissolved the body in acid.

2. (transitive) To stifle or suppress an action.

   She strangled a scream.

3. (intransitive) To be killed by strangulation, or become strangled.

   The cat slipped from the branch and strangled on its bell-collar.

4. (intransitive) To be stifled, choked, or suffocated in any manner.
   • Shakespeare

     Shall I not then be stifled in the vault, […] And there die strangled ere my Romeo comes?

Noun

strangle (plural strangles)

1. (finance) A trading strategy using options, constructed through taking equal positions in a put and a call with different strike prices, such that there is a payoff if the underlying asset's value moves beyond the range of the two strike prices.

See also

• asphyxiate
• choke
• querk
• suffocate
• throttle

Further reading

• strangle in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• strangle in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• strangle at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• Largents, langrets, tanglers, trangles