Throttle Meaning
/ˈθɹɒt.l̩/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA valve that regulates the supply of fuel-air mixture to an internal combustion engine and thus controls its speed; a similar valve that controls the air supply to an engine.
nounThe lever or pedal that controls this valve.
Sentence Examples
When she saw the marks all over the wall, she wanted to throttle the toddler.
I need to drop these useless perceptions to take full throttle over my life.
The pilot controls the engine power using the throttle.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The mechanic had to ____ the engine to reduce its speed and noise.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The pilot pushed the ____ forward to increase the speed of the engine and begin the aircraft's takeoff today.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English *throtel, diminutive of throte (“throat”), equivalent to throat + -le. Compare German Drossel (“throttle”). More at throat.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"To my unpractised eye, the undulations in the track were quite imperceptible, but the engineer's hand on the throttle was never still."
— 1961 July, J. Geoffrey Todd, “Impressions of railroading in the United States: Part Two”, in Trains Illustrated, page 425:
"Then up got Peg, and round the house gan scuttle, / In search of goods her customer to nail, / Until the Sultaun strain'd his princely throttle, / And hollow'd,—"Ma'am, that is not what I ail.["]"
— 1817 (date written), Walter Scott, “[Songs and Miscellanies.] Search after Happiness; or, The Quest of Sultaun Solimaun”, in The Poetical Works of Walter Scott, Esq. […], volume X, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Company] for Arch[ibald] Constable and Co.; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown; and John Murray, →OCLC, stanza XIX, pages 235–236:
"Nor took a punch nor given a swing, / But just soaked deady round the ring / Until their brains and bloods were foul / Enough to make their throttles howl, […]"
— 1911, John Masefield, The Everlasting Mercy, London: Sidgwick & Jackson, Ltd., page 7:
"From the cabin came that horrible song: "Here's to the feet wot have walked the plank. Yo ho! for the dead man's throttle.""
— 1915, Russell Thorndike, chapter XXXVII, in Doctor Syn:
"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."
— 1649, J[ohn] Milton, ΕΙΚΟΝΟΚΛΆΣΤΗΣ [Eikonoklástēs] […], London: […] Matthew Simmons, […], →OCLC:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The mechanic had to ____ the engine to reduce its speed and noise.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The pilot pushed the ____ forward to increase the speed of the engine and begin the aircraft's takeoff today.