From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishchoke something ↔ back phrasal verbPREVENTto control your anger, sadness etc so that you do not show it He choked back tears as he described what had happened. She choked back a sob. I choked back my anger. → choke→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
choke back• Just that panicky fear, always on the verge of turning into hatred until we shamefacedly choke it back?choked back tears• Nearby, Sheila Meyer choked back tears as she watched her brother touch a chiseled name on the wall. 