From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishthe yoke of somethingthe yoke of somethingliteraryLIMIT something that restricts your freedom, making life difficult the yoke of tradition → yoke
Examples from the Corpus
the yoke of something• They longed to break free from the yoke of Communism.• Only through such an accidental, miraculous chance could anyone expect to shake off the yoke of grimly limited prospects.• True, the judiciary has changed for the better since shaking off the yoke of the executive.• At times the yoke of his vocation was almost unbearable, although there is no indication that he ever regretted assuming it.• While I understood none of this, Edna was tied to the yoke of undesired motherhood.• Audiences yearn to groan under the yoke of suffering they may never have experienced.• Visiting women from other countries struggling under the yoke of imperialism spoke to and advised us.• She survived until my sushi-maker served up the requisite salmon roe topped with the yoke of a tiny ostrich egg. 