chain letter

chain let·ter

C c

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [cheyn let-er]
- /tʃeɪn ˈlɛt ər/
- /tʃeɪn ˈletə(r)/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [cheyn let-er]
- /tʃeɪn ˈlɛt ər/

Definitions of chain letter words

countable noun chain letter A chain letter is a letter, often with a promise of money, that is sent to several people who send copies on to several more people. Chain letters are illegal in some countries. 3
noun chain letter a letter, often with a request for and promise of money, that is sent to many people who add to or recopy it and send it on to others: illegal in many countries 3
noun chain letter a letter to be circulated among many people by being copied, or, sometimes, added to, and then passed to others with a request to do the same 3
noun chain letter a letter sent to a number of people, each of whom is asked to make and mail copies to other people who are to do likewise, often used as a means of spreading a message or raising money. 1
noun chain letter A letter that is mailed successively to different recipients, with each recipient being instructed in the body of the letter to mail the letter to another person or persons. 0

See all 5 definitions of chain letter

Information block about the term

Origin of chain letter

First appearance:

before 1905

One of the 15% newest English words

First recorded in 1905-10

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Chain letter

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Chain letter

chain letter popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 39% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

According to our data about 62% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.

chain letter usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer