1. To deprive someone of air or to prevent from breathing, to be unable to breathe: In the newspaper Linda read about two young boys who were suffocated because of fumes from the fire in the apartment where they lived with their parents.
2. To impair respiration; to smother, to asphyxiate: Lynn fell down so badly from the table that the impact on the floor suffocated her for a few minutes before she could breathe normally again.
3. To die from a lack of air when something prevents him or her from breathing: A terrible accident occurred when the little girl suffocated herself by putting a plastic bag over her head.
4. To feel or to make someone uncomfortable as a result of excessive heat and/or a lack of fresh air: The German tourists were not used to such heat in the Mojave Desert while they were on their trip and they thought they would suffocate if they didn’t find a cooler spot to rest and drink water.
5. To be or to feel confined and restricted when trying to express oneself: While Mary was growing up, her parents suffocated her so much with rules and strict regulations that she could hardly wait until she was 18 so she would be able to move away from them.
6. Etymology: from Latin suffocare, "to choke"; from sub-, "under, down" and fauces, "throat, narrow entrance".