chain lightning
Americannoun
-
Chiefly Northeastern and Western U.S. lightning that seems to move very quickly in wavy or zigzag lines.
noun
Etymology
Origin of chain lightning
An Americanism dating back to 1825–35
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Hunters will unleash an arc burst of chain lightning that tracks enemies with their glaive.
From The Verge • Feb. 28, 2022
Finally, jumpy hunters get an arc burst of chain lightning that tracks enemies in true hunter-style.
From The Verge • Feb. 1, 2022
It savaged patients and snaked like chain lightning out from the hospital through patients’ families.
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
A silent flash traveled around the mountain, followed by another flash— chain lightning, but no thunder reached the town.
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
It looked," he writes, "like a colossal railroad-map of the State of Massachusetts done in chain lightning on a midnight sky.
From The Book of the National Parks by Yard, Robert Sterling
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
