suffocate

verb
🔊/ˈsʌfəkeɪt/
🔊/ˈsʌfəkeɪt/
[intransitive, transitive]
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they suffocate
🔊/ˈsʌfəkeɪt/
🔊/ˈsʌfəkeɪt/
he / she / it suffocates
🔊/ˈsʌfəkeɪts/
🔊/ˈsʌfəkeɪts/
past simple suffocated
🔊/ˈsʌfəkeɪtɪd/
🔊/ˈsʌfəkeɪtɪd/
past participle suffocated
🔊/ˈsʌfəkeɪtɪd/
🔊/ˈsʌfəkeɪtɪd/
-ing form suffocating
🔊/ˈsʌfəkeɪtɪŋ/
🔊/ˈsʌfəkeɪtɪŋ/
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  1. to die because there is no air to breathe; to kill somebody by not letting them breathe air(使)窒息而死;(把…)闷死
    • Many dogs have suffocated in hot cars.许多狗在热烘烘的汽车里给闷死了。🔊🔊
    • suffocate somebody/something The couple were suffocated by fumes from a faulty gas fire.由于劣质煤气取暖器漏气,这对夫妇窒息而死。🔊🔊
    • He put the pillow over her face and suffocated her.他用枕头捂住她的脸,把她憋死了。🔊🔊
    • (figurative) She felt suffocated by all the rules and regulations.她受不了所有那些条条框框的束缚。🔊🔊
    Word Originlate 15th cent. (earlier (late Middle English) as suffocation): from Latin suffocat- ‘stifled’, from the verb suffocare, from sub- ‘below’ + fauces ‘throat’.