Jump To:

• chain saw
  chain saw

  noun

  a power saw, usually portable, having teeth set on an endless chain.
• chain-saw
  chain-saw

  verb (used with object)

  to cut or cut down (lumber, a tree, etc.) with a chain saw.

chain saw

¹ American  

noun

1. a power saw, usually portable, having teeth set on an endless chain.

---

chain-saw ² American  

[cheyn-saw] / ˈtʃeɪnˌsɔ /

Or chainsaw

verb (used with object)

1. to cut or cut down (lumber, a tree, etc.) with a chain saw.

---

verb (used without object)

1. to use a chain saw.

chain saw British  

noun

1. a motor-driven saw, usually portable, in which the cutting teeth form links in a continuous chain

---

Etymology

Origin of chain saw¹

An Americanism dating back to 1840–50

Origin of chain-saw²

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chain saw chain-saw

Only in the past couple of years, Sansom explained, did watchful staff members start swooping in to “borrow” Bamberger’s chain saw whenever they caught him tramping around the property with one.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 4, 2026

When A.I. took my job, I bought a chain saw.

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 31, 2025

Milei’s post-midterms victory speech kindled hope for less chain saw and more coalition building over the next two years, Stock says.

From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2025

The 17th Mickey is a flesh photocopy of Mickey Barnes, a good-for-nothing dope desperate to flee Earth after his macaron business flops and its main investor threatens him with a chain saw.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 7, 2025

“I’ve got a chain saw and a four-wheel-drive vehicle. Be glad to try to get through to her, if you want to go with me and help clear the road.”

From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret

In the chain-saw paradigm, the scariest monster is the one born in your own backyard.

From Slate ● Oct. 29, 2024

He learned that chain-saw topping was the best way to have a rotting, standing dead tree after a couple of decades, especially if the topped tree had minimal live branches left in in place.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 23, 2024

If you heard the sound of a chain-saw echoing through the air near Husky Stadium this past Tuesday, there was no reason to be alarmed.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 17, 2023

Skip said when every haunted house had its own chain-saw room, it became a cliche: “It got stupid, where people were using weed whackers and chasing people in the fields.”

From Washington Post ● Oct. 28, 2020

I want his display of chain-saw art and his sign for the aliens overhead to all look as stupid and pathetic as they possibly can.

From "Landscape with Invisible Hand" by M.T. Anderson