chain gang

American  

noun

1. a group of convicts chained together, especially when working outside.

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chain gang British  

noun

1. a group of convicted prisoners chained together, usually while doing hard labour

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Etymology

Origin of chain gang

First recorded in 1825–35

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chain gang

King was arrested in Atlanta and sentenced to four months on a chain gang.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 31, 2026

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

Two men of different races, who hate each other, escape from a chain gang shackled together.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2020

I urged that our first offering should be a bill of three one-act plays, including Paul Green’s Hymn to the Rising Sun, a grim, poetical, powerful one-acter dealing with chain gang conditions in the South.

From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright

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