chain lightning

American

noun

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

chain lightning British

noun

another name for forked lightning

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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

He's chain lightning, I tell you, and no mistake.

From Ralph in the Switch Tower by Chapman, Allen

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023