To suffocate means to die or suffer from lack of air or oxygen. When someone suffocates, they cannot breathe enough to stay alive. A person trapped in a small, sealed space might suffocate because the oxygen runs out. Someone whose airway is blocked might suffocate if they cannot get air into their lungs.

The word also describes the feeling of not being able to breathe properly, even if you're not actually in danger. You might feel like you're suffocating in a hot, crowded room with poor ventilation, or under a heavy blanket on a warm night. Athletes sometimes say they feel suffocated when running in humid weather that makes breathing difficult.

Beyond the physical meaning, people use suffocate to describe feeling trapped or overwhelmed. A student might feel suffocated by too many rules or expectations, like there's no room to make their own choices. Someone might say their creativity feels suffocated in an environment where new ideas aren't welcomed.

The related word suffocating describes something that makes breathing difficult or creates that trapped feeling: suffocating heat, suffocating pressure to succeed, or a suffocating embrace that’s too tight or lasts too long.