Meanings
nounchain letter (plural chain letters)
plural chain letters
- A letter that can be mailed successively to different recipients, with each recipient ostensibly (but sometimes sarcastically) being instructed in the body of the letter to mail the letter to another person or persons.
By the second half of the 20th century, chain letters were ubiquitous enough to become a vector for scams, hoaxes, and viral lies. Chain pyramid schemes ran rampant through the U.S. mail system before they were made illegal in 1948.
2020 January 24, Kaitlyn Tiffany, “The Divine Origins of the Horny Chain Text”, in The Atlantic
Translations
Bulgarian вери́жно писмо́
- вери́жно писмо́ (verížno pismó)a letter that is mailed successively to different recipients
Chinese Mandarin 連鎖信 /连锁信, 連環信 /连环信
- 連鎖信 /连锁信 (liánsuǒxìn)a letter that is mailed successively to different recipients
- 連環信 /连环信 (liánhuánxìn)a letter that is mailed successively to different recipients
Danish kædebrev
- kædebreva letter that is mailed successively to different recipients
Dutch kettingbrief
- kettingbriefa letter that is mailed successively to different recipients
Finnish ketjukirje
- ketjukirjea letter that is mailed successively to different recipients
German Kettenbrief
- Kettenbriefa letter that is mailed successively to different recipients
Hebrew מִכְתָּב שַׁרְשֶׁרֶת
- מִכְתָּב שַׁרְשֶׁרֶת (mikhtáv sharshéret)a letter that is mailed successively to different recipients
Italian catena di sant'antonio
- catena di sant'antonioa letter that is mailed successively to different recipients
Japanese チェーンメール, チェーン・レター
- チェーンメール (chēn mēru)a letter that is mailed successively to different recipients
- チェーン・レター (chēn-retā)a letter that is mailed successively to different recipients
Korean 행운의 편지
- 행운의 편지 (haeng'un-ui pyeonji)a letter that is mailed successively to different recipients
Norwegian Bokmål kjedebrev
- kjedebreva letter that is mailed successively to different recipients
Polish łańcuszek
- łańcuszeka letter that is mailed successively to different recipients
Russian письмо́ счастья
- письмо́ счастья (pisʹmó sčastʹja)a letter that is mailed successively to different recipients
Swedish kedjebrev
- kedjebreva letter that is mailed successively to different recipients
Thai จดหมายลูกโซ่
- จดหมายลูกโซ่ (jòt-mǎai-lûuk-sôo)a letter that is mailed successively to different recipients
Cite this entry
APA
chain letter. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chain%20letter
MLA
“chain letter.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chain%20letter. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “chain letter,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chain%20letter.
Source: chain letter on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.