How to Use chain reaction in a Sentence

chain reaction

noun
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  • Increased oil prices could trigger a chain reaction in the economy.
  • Inspire your kids to create machines of their own with these great toys that explore chain reactions.
    — Popular Science, 8 Dec. 2019
  • Missing this download would have kicked off a chain reaction of delays, researchers said in a statement.
    — Jennifer Leman, Popular Mechanics, 13 Dec. 2019
  • The chain reaction ends with a small cage falling on top of a human figure—the detective capturing his prey.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 30 Dec. 2019
  • Here’s the chain reaction: stress causes frustration, frustration leads to anger.
    — chicagotribune.com, 6 Nov. 2019
  • The rocket created another rift, which sparked a chain reaction of rockets zooming about the sky.
    — Nick Romano, EW.com, 14 Oct. 2019
  • The diagnosis set off a chain reaction for the Troy family.
    — Steve Helling, PEOPLE.com, 23 Oct. 2019
  • Police said that set off a chain reaction and Espinoza then ran the Nissan off the road before striking a guardrail.
    — Dana Hedgpeth, Washington Post, 2 Dec. 2019
  • The chain reaction to the 1999 report spent its energy quickly.
    — Kathleen Sutcliffe, Time, 5 Nov. 2019
  • When he’s done, another muscled man leans over the fence for a selfie, and then another and another, a chain reaction of adulation lining his way.
    — Tessa Love, Outside Online, 16 Jan. 2020
  • When Grady finds Ashley’s body the next day, the subsequent quest for answers sets off a chain reaction of recrimination and revelations.
    — Paula L. Woods, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2024
  • The events of No Way Home will then set off a chain reaction.
    — Jacob Siegal, BGR, 14 July 2021
  • The song started a chain reaction of dance both on stage and in the audience.
    — Rory Appleton, The Indianapolis Star, 11 July 2022
  • The struggle to raise cash has threatened to set off a chain reaction.
    — Jeanna Smialek, New York Times, 17 Mar. 2020
  • He got caught in a chain reaction crash in Turn 12 barely a quarter of the way through the race and finished 35th.
    — Dave Kallmann, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 3 July 2021
  • This sets off the chain reaction that ends with the Taylor-Prince-Chuck alliance.
    — Sarene Leeds, Vulture, 12 Sep. 2021
  • The chain reaction pushed prices higher at every link along the way.
    — New York Times, 9 Dec. 2021
  • Even a change of a few degrees would have been enough to trigger a chain reaction that caused the food chain to collapse.
    — Mike Wehner, BGR, 30 Mar. 2021
  • The world’s struggles are ‘piling up like cars in a chain reaction crash,’ U.N. chief says.
    — Los Angeles Times, 19 Jan. 2023
  • In the blink of an eye, the float was pulled under water, triggering a chain reaction on the club's grounds.
    — Paul A. Smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 25 Apr. 2021
  • The bank’s failure set off a chain reaction that has coursed through the global banking system in the weeks since.
    — Jeanna Smialek, BostonGlobe.com, 28 Mar. 2023
  • Challenge someone this year with a gift that gives a chain reaction for good.
    — Angela Belt, House Beautiful, 14 Dec. 2022
  • In the Little Boy, a bullet-like projectile made of uranium-235 was fired at a core of the same substance to set off the chain reaction.
    — Popular Mechanics, 26 May 2023
  • Russell was struck by the first vehicle in the chain reaction.
    — Camila Pedrosa, The Arizona Republic, 26 Sep. 2022
  • In the end, Favors’ man has to help, leaving for a chain reaction of passes that ends up as a Clarkson three.
    — Andy Larsen, The Salt Lake Tribune, 22 May 2021
  • Those warmer waters can set off a chain reaction of climate effects around the world.
    — Leigh Morgan, al, 13 Apr. 2023
  • The flooding creates a chain reaction in the engine and the batteries that made the parts more likely to catch on fire, the agency said.
    — Matt Gutman, ABC News, 20 Oct. 2022
  • Three vehicles were unable to stop and were struck in a chain reaction.
    — Deanese Williams-Harris, chicagotribune.com, 5 Feb. 2022
  • But it’s gone too far with its easy kills and chain reaction explosions.
    — Paul Tassi, Forbes, 17 July 2023
  • Patrick Smith / Getty Images During the homestretch, a chain reaction sent four other runners toppling.
    — Susan Baek, NBC News, 7 Aug. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'chain reaction.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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