strangles UK /ˈstɹæŋɡ(ə)lz/US /ˈstɹæŋɡəlz/ noun1 •A disease of horses caused by an infection by the bacterium Streptococcus equi.Modern man, wherever he goes, plants the seeds of disaster among all things primitive. His horses and cattle carry ticks and strangles and pleurisy; his sheep carry pest seed[.] — 1937