chain-smoke

verb

chain-smoked; chain-smoking; chain-smokes

transitive + intransitive

: to smoke something, especially cigarettes, continually
… the modest kitchen where she sits chain-smoking at a cluttered table.Mark Binelli
He wore steel-rimmed eyeglasses, chain-smoked cigarettes, and behaved like a cross between General Douglas MacArthur and a movie producer's dream of a dynamic newspaperman.Russell Baker
chain-smoker noun

Word History

First Known Use

1890, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of chain-smoke was in 1890

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Chain-smoke.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chain-smoke. Accessed 5 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

chain-smoke

verb
ˈchān-ˈsmōk
: to smoke cigarettes one right after another
chain-smoker
-ˌsmō-kər
noun
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