chain-smoke

[ cheyn-smohk ]

/ ˈtʃeɪnˌsmoʊk /

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verb (used with or without object), chain-smoked, chain-smoking.

to smoke continually, as by lighting one cigarette, cigar, etc., from the preceding one.

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Origin of chain-smoke

First recorded in 1930–35

OTHER WORDS FROM chain-smoke

chain smoker, chain-smoker, noun

Words nearby chain-smoke

chain reaction, chain rule, chain saw, chain shot, chainsman, chain-smoke, chain smoker, chainstitch, chain store, chain wale, chainwheel

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use chain-smoke in a sentence

You expect soldiers of all ranks to understand the need to respect the chain of command, regardless of personal feelings.
We Need Our Police to Be Better Than This|Nick Gillespie|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When it comes to the increasing number of rape allegations leveled at Bill Cosby, the smoke is becoming impenetrable.
Butts, Brawls, and Bill Cosby: The Biggest Celebrity Scandals of 2014 |Kevin Fallon|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
You spice it with blues and skiffle music, and pickle it in alcohol and tobacco smoke.
The Greatest Rock Voice of All Time Belonged to Joe Cocker|Ted Gioia|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“At least it keeps the mosquitoes away,” one of my table-mates said, as we watched the swooshes of smoke waft into the Havana sky.
Canada ♥ Cuba Just Got Complicated|Shinan Govani|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Perhaps the guards at the Guantanamo Bay detention facilities will finally be allowed to smoke cubans, too.
Cigar Dealers Light Up Over Cuba News|Asawin Suebsaeng|December 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She stood, in her young purity, at one end of the chain of years, and Mrs. Chepstow—did she really stand at the other?
Bella Donna|Robert Hichens
The young men gathered round him and offered him a cigar, which he accepted and began to smoke.
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
After a bit of waiting, Mac decided that the smoke was floating from a certain direction, and we began to edge carefully that way.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
The smoke from her kitchen fire rose white as she put in dry sumac to give it a start.
The Bondboy|George W. (George Washington) Ogden
In most club card-rooms smoking is not permitted, but at the Pandemonium it is the fashion to smoke everywhere.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills

British Dictionary definitions for chain-smoke

chain-smoke

verb

to smoke (cigarettes, etc) continually, esp lighting one from the preceding one

Derived forms of chain-smoke

chain smoker, noun

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