chain smoker

Idioms  

1. One who smokes continually by lighting a new cigarette from the one being finished, as in Before they forbade smoking, bridge tournaments often attracted players who are chain smokers. [c. 1930]

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chain smoker

Sheikh Khamis al-Hasnawi, a Sunni wise man of the Albu Issa tribe in Iraq, was a chain smoker, regal in demeanor, always clad in a flowing white robe with gold trim.

From New York Times ● May 26, 2018

And so Washington has become the former chain smoker who was just offered a cigarette.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 24, 2016

I remember the old chairman was a great chain smoker and I would say: 'Can you give me a list of players you've got?'.

From The Guardian ● May 17, 2013

But the brown tinge on the walls - the sculptor was a chain smoker - he is intent on preserving.

From New York Times ● Oct. 5, 2012

For a retired chain smoker driving 1,000 miles a month and earning $100,000 a year from investments plus another $6,000 from Social Security, all four of these tax hikes would hit.

From Time Magazine Archive