πνίγομαι — meaning in English

English meaning

• choke verb To be unable to breathe because something is blocking the throat or windpipe.
• drown verb To die, or to kill, by being unable to breathe underwater.
• smother verb To cover something so completely that it cannot get air, cutting off its breathing or, for a fire, its oxygen.

Senses

πνίγομαι is used for these senses in English:

• choke (intransitive) To be unable to breathe because of obstruction of the windpipe (for instance food or other objects that go down the wrong way, or fumes or particles in the air that cause the throat to constrict).
• drown (intransitive) To be flooded: to be inundated with or submerged in (literally) water or (figuratively) other things; to be overwhelmed.
• smother (intransitive) To be suffocated.
• smother (intransitive) To breathe with great difficulty by reason of smoke, dust, close covering or wrapping, or the like.

choke — full definition

1. verb To be unable to breathe because something is blocking the throat or windpipe.
2. verb To squeeze someone's throat so they cannot breathe; to strangle.
3. verb To perform badly under pressure at a crucial moment, especially when close to winning.
4. noun A valve that adjusts the fuel-air mixture in an engine, especially to help start it when cold.

drown — full definition

1. verb To die, or to kill, by being unable to breathe underwater.
2. verb To overwhelm or completely cover, often used figuratively.

Related Greek words