chain gang
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of chain gang
First recorded in 1825–35
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
King was arrested in Atlanta and sentenced to four months on a chain gang.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 31, 2026
The league likes the drama of a chain gang stretching to measure for that first down.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2023
Rustin helped organize the first freedom rides and once spent 22 days on a North Carolina chain gang after being arrested on one ride.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 12, 2023
The next year, he joined fellow organizers in protesting segregation in Rock Hill, S.C., where he was arrested and refused bail, serving 30 days of hard labor on a chain gang.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 13, 2022
In March, too, when it was obvious that she was getting better, she learned that she and her brothers were to be sold South, part of the next chain gang.
From "Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad" by Ann Petry
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
