"to choke up" / "to get choked up" / "chokes me up"

Meaning: to have a hard time speaking because of a strong emotion; to not be able to speak and almost cry because of a strong emotion

Similar Expressions

• The movie choked me up.
• The movie almost made me cry.
• The movie was touching.

When do we use it?

We use this expression to describe a time or event when we felt very strong emotions and we had a hard time speaking or almost cried because of these emotions.

We often use this expression when something is very sad.

• I choked up while speaking at my grandfather's funeral.

However, we can also use this expression when we feel strong emotions of happiness or pride. We can cry or feel strong emotions when we are happy, too.

• I got choked up when the children thanked me and hugged me.

How do we use it?

We can use this expression in a few different ways.

• I choked up when I saw my brother after he came home from the war.
• I got choked up when I saw my brother after he came home from the war.
• It choked me up when I saw my brother after he came home from the war.
• When I saw my brother after he came home from the war, it choked me up.
• Seeing my brother after he came home from the war choked me up.

Example English Conversation

A) That was a touching speech by your father.
B) Yes, I choked up listening to him talk about my mother
A) I choked up a little bit too. I really almost started crying.

It is important that you know English expressions and idioms if you want to have fluent English conversations with native English speakers or other advanced English speakers. Do not try to learn many expressions and idioms at one time. Instead, study a few of these free English lessons each week and learn English expressions and words well. This will help your English vocabulary improve steadily, and you will start speaking English like a native speaker.