chain gang

noun

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

chain gang

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of chain gang¹

First recorded in 1825–35

Example Sentences

For seven years, Loomis was held captive in Joe Turner’s chain gang, abducted for being Black, forced into hard labor and separated from his wife, whom he has been searching for since his release.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“Alligator Alcatraz” has antecedents in Florida’s historic chain gangs, where Black and queer workers in prison stripes toiled on roadsides and slept in cages often insured by the Charley E. Johns Insurance Agency.

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Inmates are sentenced to time behind bars, not forced labor, a vestige of chain gangs and slavery.

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

Read more on Seattle Times

And hard labor on road gangs in the Panama Canal Zone looked a lot like the chain gangs used to consign Black people to prison slavery in the South.

Read more on Salon