Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Suffocate \Suf"fo*cate\, a. [L. suffocatus, p. p. of suffocare
   to choke; sub under + fauces the throat. Cf. {Faucal}.]
   Suffocated; choked. --Shak.

Suffocate \Suf"fo*cate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Suffocated}; p.
   pr. & vb. n. {Suffocating}.]
   1. To choke or kill by stopping respiration; to stifle; to
      smother.

            Let not hemp his windpipe suffocate.  --Shak.

   2. To destroy; to extinguish; as, to suffocate fire.

Suffocate \Suf"fo*cate\, v. i.
   To become choked, stifled, or smothered. ``A swelling
   discontent is apt to suffocate and strangle without
   passage.'' --collier.

Source : WordNet®

suffocate
     v 1: deprive of oxygen and prevent from breathing; "Othello
          smothered Desdemona with a pillow"; "The child
          suffocated herself with a plastic bag that the parents
          had left on the floor" [syn: {smother}, {asphyxiate}]
     2: impair the respiration of or obstruct the air passage of;
        "The foul air was slowly suffocating the children" [syn: {stifle},
         {asphyxiate}, {choke}]
     3: become stultified, suppressed, or stifled; "He is
        suffocating--living at home with his aged parents in the
        small village" [syn: {choke}]
     4: suppress the development, creativity, or imagination of;
        "His job suffocated him" [syn: {choke}]
     5: be asphyxiated; die from lack of oxygen; "The child
        suffocated under the pillow" [syn: {stifle}, {asphyxiate}]
     6: feel uncomfortable for lack of fresh air; "The room was hot
        and stuffy and we were suffocating"
     7: struggle for breath; have insufficient oxygen intake; "he
        swallowed a fishbone and gagged" [syn: {gag}, {choke}, {strangle}]