gar•rote
Pronunciation: (gu-rōt', -rot'), [key] — n., v., -rot•ed, -rot•ing.
—n. - a method of capital punishment of Spanish origin in which an iron collar is tightened around a condemned person's neck until death occurs by strangulation or by injury to the spinal column at the base of the brain.
- the collarlike instrument used for this method of execution.
- strangulation or throttling, esp. in the course of a robbery.
- an instrument, usually a cord or wire with handles attached at the ends, used for strangling a victim.
—v.t. - to execute by the garrote.
- to strangle or throttle, esp. in the course of a robbery.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.