chain lightning

American  

noun

1. Chiefly Northeastern and Western U.S. lightning that seems to move very quickly in wavy or zigzag lines.

2. bead lightning.

---

chain lightning British  

noun

1. another name for forked lightning

---

Etymology

Origin of chain lightning

An Americanism dating back to 1825–35

Example Sentences

Hunters will unleash an arc burst of chain lightning that tracks enemies with their glaive.

From The Verge

Finally, jumpy hunters get an arc burst of chain lightning that tracks enemies in true hunter-style.

From The Verge

It savaged patients and snaked like chain lightning out from the hospital through patients’ families.

From Literature

The Kraken backs up swings of its deadly tentacles with bursts of chain lightning.

From Washington Times

It was the stuff of children’s myth—Georgie had an eye for the back of the net and a left foot like chain lightning—but it all seemed plausible.

From The New Yorker