chain

chain
chain1 W2S3 [tʃeın] n
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
1¦(joined rings)¦
2¦(connected events)¦
3¦(shops/hotels)¦
4¦(connected line)¦
5¦(prisoners)¦
6¦(buying a house)¦
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
[Date: 1200-1300; : Old French; Origin: chaeine, from Latin catena]
1.) ¦(JOINED RINGS)¦ [U and C]
a series of metal rings which are joined together in a line and used for fastening things, supporting weights, decoration etc
→↑link
▪ She had a gold chain around her neck.
▪ a length of heavy chain
▪ the Mayor's chain of office (=a decoration worn by some British officials at ceremonies)
pull the chain
(=flush the toilet) BrE
a bicycle chain
(=that makes the wheels turn)
2.) ¦(CONNECTED EVENTS)¦
a connected series of events or actions, especially which lead to a final result
▪ the chain of events that led to World War I
▪ The salesmen are just one link in the chain (=part of a process) of distribution.
▪ a rather complicated chain of reasoning
3.) ¦(SHOPS/HOTELS)¦
a number of shops, hotels, cinemas etc owned or managed by the same company or person
chain of
▪ a chain of restaurants
hotel/restaurant/retail etc chain
▪ several major UK supermarket chains
4.) ¦(CONNECTED LINE)¦
people or things which are connected or next to each other forming a line
mountain/island chain
▪ the Andean mountain chain
chain of atoms/molecules etc
technical
▪ a chain of amino acids
▪ They quickly formed a human chain (=a line of people who pass things from one person to the next) to move the equipment.
▪ They sat on the grass making daisy chains (=flowers tied together) .
5.) ¦(PRISONERS)¦ [C usually plural]
metal chains fastened to the legs and arms of a prisoner, to prevent them from escaping
in chains
▪ He was led away in chains.
ball and chain
(=a chain attached to someone's ankle at one end with a heavy metal ball at the other)
6.) ¦(BUYING A HOUSE)¦ [C usually singular]
BrE a number of people buying houses, where each person must complete the sale of their own house before they can buy the next person's house
chain 2
chain2 v
1.) [T]
to fasten someone or something to something else using a chain, especially in order to prevent them from escaping or being stolen
chain sb/sth to sth
▪ a bicycle chained to the fence
▪ Four activists chained themselves to the gates.
chain sb/sth up
▪ The elephants were chained up by their legs.
chain sb/sth together
▪ Their hands and feet were chained together.
2.) be chained to sth
to have your freedom restricted because of something you must do
▪ She felt chained to the kitchen sink.
▪ I don't want a job where I'm chained to a desk all day.

Dictionary of contemporary English. 2013.

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Synonyms:
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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Chain — (ch[=a]n), n. [F. cha[^i]ne, fr. L. catena. Cf. {Catenate}.] 1. A series of links or rings, usually of metal, connected, or fitted into one another, used for various purposes, as of support, of restraint, of ornament, of the exertion and… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • chain — [tʆeɪn] noun [countable] 1. a number of shops, hotels, cinemas etc owned or managed by the same company or person: • Britain s leading supermarket chain chain of • a chain of travel agents. 2. a series of people or organizations involved in… …   Financial and business terms

  • chain — chain; chain·er; chain·less; chain·let; chain·man; chain·o·mat·ic; chain·wale; en·chain; en·chain·ment; un·chain; mul·ti·chain; …   English syllables

  • chain — [chān] n. [ME & OFr chaine < L catena < IE base * kat , to twist, twine > prob. OE heathor, confinement] 1. a flexible series of joined links, usually of metal, used to pull, confine, etc. or to transmit power 2. TIRE CHAIN 3. [pl.] a)… …   English World dictionary

  • Chain — Chain, v. t. [imp. p. p. {Chained} (ch[=a]nd); p. pr. & vb. n. {Chaining}.] 1. To fasten, bind, or connect with a chain; to fasten or bind securely, as with a chain; as, to chain a bulldog. [1913 Webster] Chained behind the hostile car. Prior.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • chain — I (nexus) noun act of coming together, act of coupling, act of joining, act of uniting, affiliation, affinity, alliance, association, attachment, attraction, bond, bond of union, bridge, conjunction, connectedness, connecting link, connecting… …   Law dictionary

  • CHAIN — can refer to:* CHAIN programming language * CHAIN (industry standard), an acronym for Ceced Home Appliances Interoperating Network, a standard for a multi brands home network of interactive household appliances.See also Chain …   Wikipedia

  • chain — [n1] succession, series alternation, catena, concatenation, conglomerate, consecution, continuity, group, order, progression, row, sequence, set, string, syndicate, train, trust; concepts 432,727,769 chain [n2] connected metal links; jewelry made …   New thesaurus

  • chain —   [tʃeɪn, englisch], noch gebräuchliche Längeneinheit in Großbritannien und den USA: 1 chain = 22 yd = 20,1168 m …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Chain — [tʃein] das; s, <aus engl. chain »Kette«, dies aus fr. chaîne, vgl. ↑Chaine> Längeneinheit in Großbritannien u. in den USA (20,11 m) …   Das große Fremdwörterbuch

  • chain n — chain store n, chain letter …   English expressions

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