Chainsaw
//ˈt͡ʃeɪnˌsɔ// noun, verb
noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A power saw that has a power-driven and fast-revolving chain of metal teeth, usually used to cut trees.
"He used a chainsaw to cut through the fallen tree on the roadway."
- 2 portable power saw; teeth linked to form an endless chain wordnet
Verb
- 1 To cut with a chainsaw. transitive
"She and Barber once stopped a developer from chainsawing mature trees on Mississauga Rd. by standing in front of them."
- 2 To make quick and substantial spending cuts. figuratively
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"I watched the film named "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" with my girlfriend yesterday. She was very afraid."
Etymology
Compound of chain + saw in reference to the chain-cutting mechanism.
Related phrases
More for "chainsaw"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.