STRANGLER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does strangler mean? 

• STRANGLER (noun)
  The noun STRANGLER has 2 senses:

1. an epiphytic vine or tree whose aerial roots extend down the trunk of a supporting tree and coalesce around it eventually strangling the tree

2. someone who kills by strangling

  Familiarity information: STRANGLER used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• STRANGLER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An epiphytic vine or tree whose aerial roots extend down the trunk of a supporting tree and coalesce around it eventually strangling the tree

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

strangler; strangler tree

Hypernyms ("strangler" is a kind of...):

aerophyte; air plant; epiphyte; epiphytic plant (plant that derives moisture and nutrients from the air and rain; usually grows on another plant but not parasitic on it)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "strangler"):

Clusia major; Clusia rosea; pitch apple; strangler fig (a common tropical American clusia having solitary white or rose flowers)

Derivation:

strangle (kill by squeezing the throat of so as to cut off the air)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Someone who kills by strangling

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

choker; garroter; garrotter; strangler; throttler

Hypernyms ("strangler" is a kind of...):

killer; slayer (someone who causes the death of a person or animal)

Derivation:

strangle (kill by squeezing the throat of so as to cut off the air)

 Context examples 

“No you don’t!” Kelly cried, stepping between me and the ladder, his right hand shaped into a veritable strangler’s clutch.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)