watch chain

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noun

a chain, frequently of gold or silver, attached to a pocket watch, serving as an ornament and, when passed through a buttonhole in the vest, as a guard against loss or theft of the watch.

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Origin of watch chain

First recorded in 1730–40

Words nearby watch chain

watchable, watch and ward, watchband, watch cap, watchcase, watch chain, Watch Committee, watchdog, watcher, watcheye, watch fire

How to use watch chain in a sentence

Clad in a blue, striped button-down, a silver watch adorning his left wrist, Huckabee beams on the cover.
Huckabee 2016: Bend Over and Take It Like a Prisoner!|Olivia Nuzzi|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
People watch night soaps because the genre allows them to believe in a world where people just react off their baser instincts.
‘Empire’ Review: Hip-Hop Musical Chairs with an Insane Soap Opera Twist|Judnick Mayard|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I watch every episode alone on my couch and I just sit there and laugh, and laugh.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Angry Birds at its simplest was the same way, though you wanted to watch things collapse and explode.
Lost For Thousands of Strokes: 'Desert Golfing' Is 'Angry Birds' as Modern Art|Alec Kubas-Meyer|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
I seized the opportunity to watch what I supposed would be a most interesting interview, from behind a curtain.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
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
He produced a watch and studied it frowningly, then dismissed us and the recital of our troubles with a ponderous gesture.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
Then he closed the spring with a snap, and she let him pass the chain over her hand once more.
Rosemary in Search of a Father|C. N. Williamson
He is a hypochondriac now and would keep a close watch on his heir's health and habits; you may be sure of that.
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton

British Dictionary definitions for watch chain

watch chain

noun

a chain used for fastening a pocket watch to the clothingSee also fob 1

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