choke up
phrasal verb
choked up; choking up; chokes up
1
: to have trouble talking because of crying or strong emotion
He chokes up whenever he tries to talk about the accident.
2
baseball
: to move one's hands to a higher position on a baseball bat
—often + on
He choked up on the bat and took a short swing.
Examples of choke up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
At times Gomez choked up describing the stakes of the incident.
—
Boston Herald Wire Services, Boston Herald, 12 June 2025
Shortly after taking the stage Sunday evening at the Tribeca Film Festival, Alex Cooper started to choke up.
—Rebecca Jennings, Vulture, 9 June 2025
He got choked up talking at one point, and his eyes appeared moist.
—David O'Brien, New York Times, 8 June 2025
Discussing this scene, which took place 37 minutes into the first episode, is the only time that Graham gets choked up during
our conversation.
—Emily Longeretta, Variety, 22 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for choke up
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Boston Herald Wire Services, Boston Herald, 12 June 2025
Shortly after taking the stage Sunday evening at the Tribeca Film Festival, Alex Cooper started to choke up.
—Rebecca Jennings, Vulture, 9 June 2025
He got choked up talking at one point, and his eyes appeared moist.
—David O'Brien, New York Times, 8 June 2025
Discussing this scene, which took place 37 minutes into the first episode, is the only time that Graham gets choked up during
our conversation.
—Emily Longeretta, Variety, 22 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for choke up
Cite this Entry
“Choke up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/choke%20up. Accessed 28 Jun. 2025.
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