What does "suffocate" mean?

Suffocate: To choke or kill by stopping respiration; to stifle; to smother. Let not hemp his windpipe suffocate. Shak.

Additional senses

  1. 2.To destroy; to extinguish; as, to suffocate fire.
  2. 3.To become choked, stifled, or smothered. "A swelling discontent is apt to suffocate and strangle without passage." collier.

Sources