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
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 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
“Another Man Done Gone,” the third and final song on the first side of Blood, Sweat and Tears, effectively tells us what happened to the convict who fled the chain gang in the previous song.
From Slate ● Dec. 7, 2021
They reminded me fleetingly of prisoners carrying their leg irons as they escaped from a chain gang.
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
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.
