To choke back tears

Suppress or hold back tears
To choke back tears means to suppress or hold back tears, especially with great effort. It can also be used to describe the suppression of other emotions such as rage or anger. For example, "He was choking back tears as he talked about his late wife". "Choke back" is a phrasal verb that means to force oneself not to show how angry or upset they are.

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choke back
phrasal verb
choked back; choking back; chokes back
: to have difficulty not showing or expressing (tears, rage, anger, etc.)
He was choking back tears as he talked about his late wife.
She struggled to choke back her anger as she listened to their criticisms.
Examples of choke back in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Victor Manuel Rocha, the onetime U.S. envoy to Bolivia, appeared to choke back tears at the defense table as family members entered the courtroom of Chief Magistrate Judge Edwin G. Torres in Miami.
—Maria Pi;ero, NBC News, 4 Dec. 2023
Audience members were howling with laughter, choking back tears and completely riveted from start to finish.
—Scott Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Sep. 2023
The musician, whose wife is from Maui, choked back emotion while speaking about the fires.
—Lucas Kwan Peterson, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'choke back.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Dictionary Entries Near choke back
choke

choke back


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choke back
DEFINITION
suppress a strong emotion:
"Liz was choking back her anger"
synonyms:
suppress · hold back · fight back · bite back · swallow · check · restrain · contain · control · repress · smother · stifle · curb · bridle · bite one's lip · gulp back · keep in check · rein in