Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Throttle?

\Throt"tle\, n. [Dim. of throat. See {Throat}.] 1. The windpipe, or trachea; the weasand. --Sir W. Scott. 2. (Steam Engine) The throttle valve. {Throttle lever} (Steam Engine), the hand lever by which a throttle valve is moved, especially in a locomotive. {Throttle valve} (Steam Engine), a valve moved by hand or by a governor for regulating the supply of steam to the steam chest. In one form it consists of a disk turning on a transverse axis.
\Throt"tle\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Throttled}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Throttling}.] 1. To compress the throat of; to choke; to strangle. Grant him this, and the Parliament hath no more freedom than if it sat in his noose, which, when he pleases to draw together with one twitch of his negative, shall throttle a whole nation, to the wish of Caligula, in one neck. --Milton. 2. To utter with breaks and interruption, in the manner of a person half suffocated. [R.] Throttle their practiced accent in their fears. --Shak. 3. To shut off, or reduce flow of, as steam to an engine.
\Throt"tle\, v. i. 1. To have the throat obstructed so as to be in danger of suffocation; to choke; to suffocate. 2. To breathe hard, as when nearly suffocated.