Definition

Verb: - To smoke cigarettes continuously, one immediately after another, typically by lighting the next cigarette from the end of the previous one.

Usage

• This verb describes the habitual or continuous action of smoking without a significant break between cigarettes.
• It is often used to indicate a high level of dependency or intense stress.
• It is typically used in the simple present, past, or continuous tenses (e.g., , , ).

Examples

• During the stressful exam period, he would chain-smoke at his desk.
• She chain-smoked her way through an entire pack while waiting for the news.
• I could see him through the window, chain-smoking nervously before the interview.

Advanced Usage

• "To chain-smoke one's way through something": This phrase emphasizes that the continuous smoking accompanies a difficult or lengthy period.
  • He chain-smoked his way through the all-night writing session.

Variants and Related Words

• Chain-smoker (noun): A person who chain-smokes.
  • He became a heavy chain-smoker during his time in the army.

Synonyms

• Smoke heavily/continuously: To smoke a lot without stopping. (Note: These are descriptive phrases, not single-word synonyms.)

Notes on Meaning

• The term specifically implies a rapid succession, not just smoking many cigarettes over a longer period with breaks.
• It focuses on the of smoking (continuously, in a chain) rather than just the quantity.

Verb

1. smoke one cigarette after another; light one cigarette from the preceding one