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definitions

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.

Origin of watch chain

First recorded in 1730–40
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for watch chain

Historical Examples of watch chain

  • I'll have your pretty ears mummified and wear them on my watch-chain.

  • Mr. Galloway sealed the letter, stamping it with the seal hanging to his watch-chain.

    The Channings

    Mrs. Henry Wood

  • "That is my name," said the chairman of the Malgamite Fund, with his finger in his watch-chain.

    Roden's Corner

    Henry Seton Merriman

  • Playing with his watch-chain, he had struggled to look calm and impassive.

  • He wore no rings and no scarf-pin, even his watch-chain was only of leather.

    The Nebuly Coat

    John Meade Falkner

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