chain gang

American

noun

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

chain gang British

noun

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

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

Ivey noted it’s one of the only remaining places in the country where a chain gang still operates.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 29, 2024

The league likes the drama of a chain gang stretching to measure for that first down.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 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

But was not my life already a kind of chain gang?

From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023