The verb strangle has 6 senses (first 1 from tagged texts)
1. (4) strangle, strangulate, throttle -- (kill by squeezing the throat of so as to cut off the air; "he tried to strangle his opponent"; "A man in Boston has been strangling several dozen prostitutes")
2. smother, stifle, strangle, muffle, repress -- (conceal or hide; "smother a yawn"; "muffle one's anger"; "strangle a yawn")
3. strangle -- (die from strangulation)
4. hamper, halter, cramp, strangle -- (prevent the progress or free movement of; "He was hampered in his efforts by the bad weather"; "the imperialist nation wanted to strangle the free trade between the two small countries")
5. choke, strangle -- (constrict (someone's) throat and keep from breathing)
6. gag, choke, strangle, suffocate -- (struggle for breath; have insufficient oxygen intake; "he swallowed a fishbone and gagged")