lump in one's throat: meaning & examples

Meanings:

• 1.

  Generalneutraleverydayliterary
  • A physical sensation of tightness or pressure in the throat caused by strong emotion, especially sadness, nostalgia, or sympathy.
  • A common bodily reaction that may momentarily make speaking difficult because of overwhelming feeling.

  Examples

  Beta

  • When she said goodbye at the airport, I felt a lump in my throat and almost couldn’t speak.

    Cuando ella se despidió en el aeropuerto, sentí un nudo en la garganta y casi no pude hablar.

  • Watching that touching movie gave me such a lump in my throat—I had to hold back tears.

    Ver esa película conmovedora me causó un nudo en la garganta; tuve que contener las lágrimas.

  • Every time he talked about his late father, a lump would rise in his throat from the emotion.

    Cada vez que hablaba de su padre fallecido, se le formaba un nudo en la garganta por la emoción.

  • As the speech grew more emotional, a lump formed in her throat making it hard to continue.

    A medida que el discurso se volvía más emotivo, se le formó un nudo en la garganta que dificultaba continuar.

• 2.

  Generalinformalcolloquial
  • A figurative way to describe being emotionally moved or choked up; suddenly unable to speak clearly due to emotion.

  Examples

  Beta

  • When John announced his retirement, I got a lump in my throat and couldn’t say a word.

    Cuando John anunció su retiro, me sentí emocionado al punto de no poder decir ni una palabra.

  • She felt a lump in her throat as the audience applauded her heartfelt story.

    Ella sintió un nudo en la garganta mientras la audiencia aplaudía su emotiva historia.

  • Do you ever get a lump in your throat when you’re about to say something deeply personal?

    ¿Alguna vez te sientes emocionado al punto de que no puedes hablar cuando estás a punto de decir algo muy personal?