daisy chain

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noun

a string of daisies linked together to form a chain.

such a chain used as a garland or carried on festive days by a group of women college students.

a series of interconnected or related things or events: a daisy chain of legislative delays and stalemates.

Slang. a group sexual activity in which the participants serve as active and passive partners to different people simultaneously.

Commerce. a series of transactions designed to create the appearance of active trading, as in a particular stock, in order to manipulate the price.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of daisy chain

First recorded in 1835–45

Words nearby daisy chain

dairywoman, dais, daishiki, daisy, daisy bush, daisy chain, daisy-cutter, daisy fleabane, daisy ham, daisy wheel, dak

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

How to use daisy chain in a sentence

As with all witch hunts, the daisy chain of accusations never ends.
Bachmann, Gaffney, and the GOP’s Anti-Muslim Culture of Conspiracy|Jonathan Kay|July 23, 2012|DAILY BEAST
I lay on the grass in the cloisters, and the Daisy Chain hung from the sky, and was drawing me upwards.
The Daisy Chain|Charlotte Yonge
Make a chain of roses, just as one makes a daisy chain, or a chain of any other flowers.
The Pansy Magazine, June 1886|Various
"That is why you like to call us your Daisy Chain," said Ethel.
The Daisy Chain|Charlotte Yonge

But 'young Margrett' was bending her head still lower, seemingly over her daisy chain.
A Book of Quaker Saints|Lucy Violet Hodgkin
Father Brown threw away a daisy-chain he was making, and rose with a wistful look.
The Wisdom of Father Brown|G. K. Chesterton

British Dictionary definitions for daisy chain

daisy chain

noun

a garland made, esp by children, by threading daisies together

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with daisy chain

daisy chain

A series of connected events, activities, or experiences. For example, The daisy chain of lectures on art history encompassed the last 200 years. This metaphorical term alludes to a string of the flowers linked together. [Mid-1800s]

A line or circle of three or more persons engaged in simultaneous sexual activity. For example, A high-class call girl, she drew the line at daisy chains. [Vulgar slang; 1920s]

A series of securities transactions intended to give the impression of active trading so as to drive up the price. For example, The SEC is on the alert for unscrupulous brokers who are engaging in daisy chains. [1980s]