throat
Pronunciation: /θrəʊt/
noun
- the passage which leads from the back of the mouth of a person or animal: her throat was parched with thirst he’s pouring beer down his throat
- the front part of a person’s or animal’s neck: a gold pendant gleamed at her throat
- literary a voice of a person or a songbird: from a hundred throats came the cry ‘Vive l’Empereur!’
- a thing compared to a throat, especially a narrow passage, entrance, or exit.
- Sailing the forward upper corner of a quadrilateral fore-and-aft sail.
Phrases
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be at each other's throats
- (of people or organizations) quarrel or fight persistently: they were always at each other’s throats
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cut one's own throat
- bring about one’s own downfall by one’s actions.
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force (or ram or shove) something down someone's throat
- force ideas or material on a person’s attention by repeatedly putting them forward: the literature they forced down our throats in high school
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grab (or take) someone by the throat
- put one’s hands around someone’s throat, typically in an attempt to throttle them: Hugh grabbed him by the throat
- (grab something by the throat) seize control of something: Scotland took the game by the throat
- attract someone’s undivided attention: the film grabs you by the throat and refuses to let go
Origin:
Old English throte, throtu, of Germanic origin; related to German Drossel. Compare with throttle