suffocate

verb/ˈsʌfəˌkeɪt/

Frequency rank: #14,944 most common English word

Meaning

to die or cause to die from lack of air; to feel unable to breathe.

Illustration for the English word “suffocate”

Example sentence

Without proper ventilation, workers in the tunnel began to suffocate from the lack of oxygen.

Synonyms & related words

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