chainsaw

noun

chain·​saw ˈchān-ˌsȯ 

variants or less commonly chain saw

plural chainsaws also chain saws

: a portable power tool used for cutting that has sharp teeth linked together to form a continuous chain

chainsaw transitive verb

chainsawed; chainsawed also chainsawn ˈchān-ˌsȯn  ; chainsawing; chainsaws

Examples of chainsaw in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Tools and tool parts, including wrenches, chainsaw blades, rakes and sledgehammers also appear, along with electronics like smartphones, television cameras, radar apparatuses, video monitors and parts for manufacturing electronics. — Zachary Folk, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2026

Throughout the day, the sound of chainsaws rang out across Kansas City, Kansas. — Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 20 Aug. 2026

Munster residents in the comments saw the call for help and mobilized to send someone with a chainsaw and scheduled the Munster High School football team to pick up the debris in the afternoon. — Meredith Colias-Pete, Chicago Tribune, 19 Aug. 2026

Even Musk, despite his vow to take a chainsaw to the bureaucracy, seemed exhausted by the vastness of what his Department of Government Efficiency had taken on, and abandoned DOGE over a year earlier than planned. — Jennifer Pahlka, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1946, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for chainsaw

• aa
• aha
• bashaw
• bradshaw
• byelaw
• bylaw
• cheraw
• coleslaw
• crenshaw
• dada
• esau
• foresaw

Kids Definition

chain saw

noun

: a portable power saw that has teeth linked together to form a continuous chain