1. complete control over something that prevents others from acting freely
Usage: figurative
2. a wrestling hold that restricts breathing by pressure on the throat
Usage: wrestling; martial arts

Examples

• The large corporation had a stranglehold on the local market.
• Government regulations broke the company’s stranglehold on prices.
• The dictator maintained a stranglehold over the media.
• She escaped from her opponent’s stranglehold during the match.
• The union’s stranglehold on negotiations lasted for months.
• Breaking free from the stranglehold required all his strength.
• The monopoly’s stranglehold stifled competition in the industry.