What is "gagging"

Gag \Gag\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Gagged; p. pr. & vb. n. Gagging.] [Prob. fr. W. cegio to choke or strangle, fr. ceg mouth, opening, entrance.]

1. To stop the mouth of, by thrusting sometimes in, so as to hinder speaking; hence, to silence by authority or by violence; not to allow freedom of speech to.
   --Marvell.

   The time was not yet come when eloquence was to be gagged, and reason to be hood winked.
   --Maccaulay.

2. To pry or hold open by means of a gag.

   Mouths gagged to such a wideness.
   --Fortescue (Transl.).

3. To cause to heave with nausea.

n. A gag motion or reflex. vb. (present participle of gag English)

See gag

1. v. prevent from speaking out; "The press was gagged" [syn: muzzle]

2. be too tight; rub or press; "This neckband is choking the cat" [syn: choke, fret]

3. tie a gag around someone's mouth in order to silence them; "The burglars gagged the home owner and tied him to a chair" [syn: muzzle]

4. make jokes or quips; "The students were gagging during dinner" [syn: quip]

5. struggle for breath; have insufficient oxygen intake; "he swallowed a fishbone and gagged" [syn: choke, strangle, suffocate]

6. cause to retch or choke [syn: choke]

7. make an unsuccessful effort to vomit; strain to vomit [syn: heave, retch]

8. [also: gagging, gagged]

1. n. a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter; "he told a very funny joke"; "he knows a million gags"; "thanks for the laugh"; "he laughed unpleasantly at hisown jest"; "even a schoolboy's jape is supposed to have some ascertainable point" [syn: joke, laugh, jest, jape]

2. restraint put into a person's mouth to prevent speaking or shouting [syn: muzzle]

3. [also: gagging, gagged]