choke up

phrasal verb

choked up; choking up; chokes up

: to have trouble talking because of crying or strong emotion

He chokes up whenever he tries to talk about the accident.

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 the documentary’s Feb. 13 screening in Los Angeles, Lopez choked up thanking her husband in a speech that acknowledged his discomfort with the spotlight. —

Jack Smart, Peoplemag, 17 May 2024 Advertisement Tarango chokes up on the phone when reminiscing about the sacrifices made by his mother and other elders in order to assert the tribe’s right to chart its own destiny. —

Tyrone Beason, Los Angeles Times, 16 May 2024 Before introducing Testerman, career educator and first lady Jill Biden choked up when describing President Biden’s record. —

Arthur Jones Ii, ABC News, 2 May 2024 Similarly, a hammer drill delivers the same thrusts but is designed for drilling through tough materials that could choke up a normal cordless drill. —

Matt Jancer, WIRED, 25 Apr. 2024 Looking back on that night, Emily can’t help but still get a little choked up. —

Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2024 Another said he got choked up over the film’s scenes depicting Oppenheimer’s inner turmoil. —

Yuri Kageyama, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 Mar. 2024 Calling it the best and worst day of his life, Combs choked up, took a beat, and wiped tears from his eyes. —

Journal Sentinel, 13 Apr. 2024 Head coach Frank Reich choked up a bit while addressing his team postgame. —

Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 9 Apr. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'choke up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.