lump to one's throat
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
To feel a strong emotion, often sadness, that makes it hard to speak.
Literally: a lump forming in one's throat
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
A lump came to her throat as she said goodbye to her family.
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “lump to one's throat” mean?
To feel a strong emotion, often sadness, that makes it hard to speak. Literally: a lump forming in one's throat
Is “lump to one's throat” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.