pull chain
1
4.7
- noun
:
cadena de tirón
- He reached up and tugged on the pull chain to illuminate the dim hallway.
Examples
-
"With a tank on the ceiling and a pull-chain." "I saw some of those in the British Museum," Brianna said, nodding.
Fiction book (1992) -
A long string hangs from the pull chain.
Fiction book (1999) -
What I've got is a pull chain that you use in, oh, downstairs in grandma's house to turn on the lights.
-
She gave Diana a keen look before continuing her discussion with a young couple desirous of acquiring—heaven knew why—a pull-chain toilet, sans seat.
Fiction book (1992) -
To turn on the light in the dark room, I simply pulled the pull chain hanging from the fixture.
-
The old bathroom had a pull chain attached to the toilet that you had to tug to flush.
Synonyms
184
1.0
A line of metal rings joined together used to fasten or hold things
How Easy
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun 'pull chain' denotes a chain that you pull to operate something, which is directly and literally built from the verb 'pull' and the noun 'chain'. This is a straightforward compositional, physical-action compound found across languages and follows common English noun-formation patterns, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Pull chain comes from the simple picture of a pull, meaning something you tug, attached to a chain that hangs by a light or above an old toilet. When you pull it, the light turns on or the toilet flushes, so the phrase means 'a chain with a handle that you pull to make something work'.