verb (used with object),suf·fo·cat·ed,suf·fo·cat·ing.
to kill by preventing the access of air to the blood through the lungs or analogous organs, as gills; strangle.
to impede the respiration of.
to discomfort by a lack of fresh or cool air.
to overcome or extinguish; suppress.
verb (used without object),suf·fo·cat·ed,suf·fo·cat·ing.
to become suffocated; stifle; smother.
to be uncomfortable due to a lack of fresh or cool air.
Origin of suffocate
1520–30; <Latin suffōcātus (past participle of suffōcāre to choke, stifle), equivalent to suf-suf- + -fōc- (combining form of fauc-, stem of faucēs throat) + -ātus-ate1
Scores of businesses in the city are suffocating as they delay their return to work or, worse, decide to work from home forever.
Why New Yorkers aren't going back to their offices|Erica Pandey|October 6, 2020|Axios
We’ve read through quite a few letters about Zoom, suffocating family dinners, the role of sound and music, birthdays and anniversaries, and racially charged encounters.
Letter-writing staved off lockdown loneliness. Now it’s getting out the vote.|Tanya Basu|September 18, 2020|MIT Technology Review
In industries where specific brand names have become synonymous with their original product, new brands can easily be suffocated out of the game.
Inbound marketing for brand awareness: Four up-to-date ways to do it|Ali Faagba|September 11, 2020|Search Engine Watch
Her adopted daughter tried to suffocate a younger biological sibling.
Judge: Rehoming Kids Is Trafficking|Tina Traster|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Somewhere in the theater, you also hear a soft, whimpering, “Help”—a woman is about to suffocate on her own tears.
Ranking the Saddest Scenes in ‘The Fault in Our Stars’|Kevin Fallon|June 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I hated that the town response to tragedy and suffering was to suffocate the afflicted family with attention.
How 'The Little Way of Ruthie Leming' Taught Me It's OK to Love My Hometown|Justin Green|April 10, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Yet the key development will hinge on sanctions aiming to suffocate the regime, a current point of division.
5 Key Moments to Watch at the General Assembly|Daniel Stone|September 19, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Selfby Danielle Evans A powerful short story collection from a rising star.
This Week's Hot Reads|The Daily Beast|October 4, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Tell the person he is suffocating in water, and he will suffocate, unless you prevent him.
The Spirit Land|Samuel B. (Samuel Bulfinch) Emmons
If I should be pulled up I might be jerked away from my air-supply and suffocate before I got to the surface.
John Gayther's Garden and the Stories Told Therein|Frank R. Stockton
Let me out double-quick; I stifle, I suffocate, I do not breaze.
King of the Air|Herbert Strang
And that suggested another idea—that he might suffocate before he starved.
Samuel the Seeker|Upton Sinclair
It made her feel she could not breathe: she must suffocate, it was so inhuman.
The Rainbow|D. H. (David Herbert) Lawrence
British Dictionary definitions for suffocate
suffocate
/ (ˈsʌfəˌkeɪt) /
verb
to kill or be killed by the deprivation of oxygen, as by obstruction of the air passage or inhalation of noxious gases
to block the air passages or have the air passages blocked
to feel or cause to feel discomfort from heat and lack of air