1. to squeeze or constrict something so tightly as to prevent circulation or breathing
Usage: medical; formal
2. to hinder or suppress the development or activity of something
Usage: figurative

Examples

• The tight bandage could strangulate the blood flow to his arm.
• A hernia can strangulate if it becomes trapped and loses blood supply.
• The new regulations threaten to strangulate small businesses.
• Economic sanctions may strangulate the country's trade.
• The tumor began to strangulate the surrounding tissue.
• Excessive bureaucracy can strangulate innovation in large corporations.