choking
/ˈt͡ʃoʊkɪŋ/noun, verb
choking is spelled C-H-O-K-I-N-G: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 3.8 times per million words in written English, the 13,321st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, choking means “The process in which a person's airway becomes blocked, resulting in asphyxia in cases that are not treated promptly” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of choking is chokings.
How many letters and syllables are in choking?
| Letters | 7: C-H-O-K-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.8 times per million words; the 13,321st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is choking?
Choking appears 3.8 times per million words in written English, the 13,321st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce choking?
- UK /ˈtʃəʊkɪŋ/
- US /ˈt͡ʃoʊkɪŋ/
Choking has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-choking.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with choking?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as choking from its last stressed vowel (/oʊkɪŋ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of choking
- chokings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does choking mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The process in which a person's airway becomes blocked, resulting in asphyxia in cases that are not treated promptly.
- 2
The act of coughing when a person finds it difficult to breathe.
- 3
The act of trying to kill a person by strangulation.
- 4
The result of something being choked.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of choke
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Choking in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Ersticken, Erstickung , Röcheln, Würgen , Strangulation |
| Spanish | ahogo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does choking come from?
By surface analysis, choke + -ing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).