Throttle

How to spell throttle

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce throttle

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does throttle mean?

1. nounA device, lever, or pedal that controls the supply of fuel or power to an engine, and so its speed.
2. verbTo control, reduce, or cut off the flow of something, such as fuel, power, or data.
3. verbTo choke or strangle by squeezing the throat.

Throttle in a sentence

• noun

  The pilot eased the throttle forward as the aircraft began to taxi.

• verb

  The provider may throttle your broadband speed once you pass the monthly limit.

• verb

  The tight collar felt as though it might throttle him by the end of the day.

• noun

  A sticky throttle made the motorcycle surge unexpectedly at the lights.

• verb

  Engineers can throttle the reactor output during routine maintenance.

• verb

  The climbing ivy began to throttle the young trees in the garden.

Where does throttle come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word grew out of the Old English noun throte, meaning the throat or windpipe, the same root that still gives us the modern word 'throat'. In Middle English the verb form throtelen appeared, built by adding the frequentative ending -le, so the literal idea was to keep working at someone's throat, that is, to choke or strangle. Over the centuries the strangling sense broadened into the idea of squeezing or cutting off any flow, and by the era of steam and the internal combustion engine the noun came to name the valve that pinches off or opens up the supply of fuel and air. The keep-the-throat spelling is the memory hook: the silent linkage to 'throat' explains the th-r opening, while the doubled t and the soft -le ending mirror many native English verbs of repeated action like 'rattle' and 'nestle'. Because it never passed through Latin or French, it kept its plain Germanic look throughout.

How the word is built

• throt- (from Old English throte: throat)
• -le (frequentative/diminutive verb suffix)