straight-chain

[ streyt-cheyn ]

/ ˈstreɪtˈtʃeɪn /

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noun Chemistry.

an open chain of atoms, usually carbon, with no side chains attached to it.

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Also called straight chain .

Compare branched chain.

Origin of straight-chain

First recorded in 1925–30

Words nearby straight-chain

straight as an arrow, straightaway, straight-backed, straight bat, straight bill of lading, straight-chain, straight chair, straightedge, straighten, straighten out, straighten up

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use straight-chain in a sentence

In straight relationships with an age gap, words like ‘gold-digger’ and ‘trophy wife’ get thrown around.
Freaking Out About Age Gaps in Gay Relationships Is Homophobic|Samantha Allen|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Except the Braves did not win 14 straight pennants (they did win 14 straight division titles), and Smoltz is a also Republican.
Conservative Curt Says His Politics, Not His Pitching, Kept Him Out of the Hall of Fame|Ben Jacobs|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Denied parole nine straight times, he insists he is innocent of the crime for which he was convicted.
His First Day Out Of Jail After 40 Years: Adjusting To Life Outside|Justin Rohrlich|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Amazing how people can still haul this one out with a straight face.
Steve Scalise and the Right’s Ridiculous Racial Blame Game|Michael Tomasky|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST

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
She sat straight up in bed, and jerked her hands to her head, and screamed long and terribly.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux
This wasn't at all what he meant to say, and it sounded very ridiculous; but somehow the words wouldn't come straight.
Davy and The Goblin|Charles E. Carryl
She had listened—she had listened intently, looking straight out of the window and without moving.
Confidence|Henry James
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
It mounted straight as a plume for a little way, until it met the cool air of evening which was beginning to fall.
The Bondboy|George W. (George Washington) Ogden

British Dictionary definitions for straight-chain

straight chain

noun

an open chain of atoms in a molecule with no attached side chains
(as modifier)a straight-chain hydrocarbon

Compare branched chain

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

Scientific definitions for straight-chain

straight chain

An arrangement of atoms of the same type that forms an unbranched open chain. Propane is a straight-chain compound with a chain of three carbon atoms.