a series of objects connected one after the other, usually in the form of a series of metal rings passing through one another, used either for various purposes requiring a flexible tie with high tensile strength, as for hauling, supporting, or confining, or in various ornamental and decorative forms.
Often chains. something that binds or restrains; bond.
the chain of timidity; the chains of loyalty.
chains,
shackles or fetters.
to place a prisoner in chains.
bondage; servitude.
to live one's life in chains.
Nautical. (in a sailing vessel) the area outboard at the foot of the shrouds of a mast: the customary position of the leadsman in taking soundings.
a series of things connected or following in succession.
a chain of events.
a range of mountains.
a number of similar establishments, as banks, theaters, or hotels, under one ownership or management.
Chemistry. two or more atoms of the same element, usually carbon, attached as in a chain.
Surveying, Civil Engineering.
a distance-measuring device consisting of a chain of 100 links of equal length, having a total length either of 66 feet (20 meters) Gunter's chain, or surveyor's chain or of 100 feet (30 meters) engineer's chain.
a unit of length equal to either of these.
a graduated steel tape used for distance measurements. ch
Mathematics. totally ordered set.
Football. a chain 10 yards (9 meters) in length for determining whether a first down has been earned.
to fasten or secure with a chain.
to chain a dog to a post.
to confine or restrain.
His work chained him to his desk.
Surveying. to measure (a distance on the ground) with a chain or tape.
Computers. to link (related items, as records in a file or portions of a program) together, especially so that items can be run in sequence.
to make (a chain stitch or series of chain stitches), as in crocheting.
drag the chain, to lag behind or shirk one's fair share of work.
in the chains, standing outboard on the channels or in some similar place to heave the lead to take soundings.
a flexible length of metal links, used for confining, connecting, pulling, etc, or in jewellery
(usually plural) anything that confines, fetters, or restrains
the chains of poverty
Also called: snow chains. (usually plural) a set of metal links that fit over the tyre of a motor vehicle to increase traction and reduce skidding on an icy surface
a number of establishments such as hotels, shops, etc, having the same owner or management
( as modifier )
a chain store
a series of related or connected facts, events, etc
a series of deals in which each depends on a purchaser selling before being able to buy
(of reasoning) a sequence of arguments each of which takes the conclusion of the preceding as a premise See (as an example) sorites
Also called: Gunter's chain. a unit of length equal to 22 yards
Also called: engineer's chain. a unit of length equal to 100 feet
chem two or more atoms or groups bonded together so that the configuration of the resulting molecule, ion, or radical resembles a chain See also open chain ring 1
geography a series of natural features, esp approximately parallel mountain ranges
informal free from responsibility
informal to tease, mislead, or harass someone
surveying to measure with a chain or tape
to confine, tie, or make fast with or as if with a chain
to sew using chain stitch
A group of atoms, often of the same element, bound together in a line, branched line, or ring to form a molecule.
◆ In a straight chain, each of the constituent atoms is attached to other single atoms, not to groups of atoms.
◆ In a branched chain, side groups are attached to the chain.
◆ In a closed chain, the atoms are arranged in the shape of a ring.
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English chayne, from Old French chaeine, from Latin catēna “fetter”; see catena
A chain is a long series of connected metal links. Chains are strong and flexible, so they're useful for pulling a heavy load or securing a dangerous animal. The chain that anchors a ship to a dock or secures a warehouse door is just a larger version of the gold chain you wear around your neck — both are made of loops of metal. More figurative types of chains include things that hold you back, like the chains of your responsibility to your family, or connected occurrences — like a chain of events that leads to you meeting your best friend.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Although artillery-shell output has increased, producers still rely on constricted supplies of dangerous chemicals manufactured in a globe-spanning supply chain with lots of chokepoints.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Shares of the Tennessee-based chain fell by more than 2% after Monday's announcement and are still around a fifth lower than this time last year.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
The researchers uncovered a chain of events that helps explain how prostate cancer shuts down this signal:
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
Jeff Kent honored his father with a mustache and his mother by always wearing a gold chain she gave him throughout his Hall of Fame career.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026
They remained standing, out of the reach of the golden chain.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
Bobby Gillespie, Primal Scream's singer, was notably a former drummer with The Jesus and Mary Chain.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
Rodrigo, fresh off the release of her junior album, on Monday unveiled her Daisy Chain Fields music festival and the roster of all-women artists set to take over Irvine’s Great Park on Aug. 29.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026
Chain pizza is just so similar to fast-food hamburgers, why bother?”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026
The Biden administration demonstrated what successful analysis and action-oriented coordination could achieve, with its agency-led supply-chain studies and interagency Supply Chain Resilience Council.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 3, 2026
The gyro had widened; The Great Chain of Being had snapped like so many paper clips strung together by some drooling idiot; death, destruction, anarchy, progress, ambition, and self-improvement were to be Piers' new fate.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
The transition comes as Cracker Barrel faces fierce competition from chains like Denny's and IHOP, which have been fighting to take market share among budget-conscious diners seeking classic American comfort food.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
The U.S. decided it would rather have secure supply chains than cheap ones.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
Peptides are short chains of amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
Shares of restaurant chains like Cava, Chipotle and Sweetgreen have come under pressure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
"We'd be caught again. And as for taking up those chains once more, you must be joking! That's out of the question!"
From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios
Searching for "secret information" that could help it cheat the evaluation, the OpenAI system "chained together multiple attack vectors, including using stolen credentials".
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
Nobody knows how, since the bell’s been chained up for such a long time that the metal links have rusted.
From Salon ● Jun. 18, 2026
It is what’s known as a privilege escalation exploit, and if it were chained together with other attacks it could be used by a hacker to seize control of the computer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
"Every day we get reports of, horses, dogs, pigs, goats, everything. So many animals being either stranded, abandoned, locked up and chained," Kenny said.
From BBC ● Mar. 13, 2026
I had a persuasion that I should be supposed mad, and this in itself would for ever have chained my tongue.
From "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley
Adding eight gigawatts of new demand to a 2.4 gigawatt system is like chaining an M1 Abrams tank to a Toyota Camry and expecting the two vehicles to drive calmly down the highway together.
From Barron's ● Feb. 25, 2026
You and your husband have gone from wanting to sell this house to actually chaining yourself to the house and the future occupants.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 21, 2026
Ben Williamson, who works for PeTA, says that the new box shows that people today no longer accept “the chaining and caging of wild animals.”
From NewsForKids.net ● Apr. 23, 2024
More than 200 pro-Palestinian protesters blocked off traffic on the San Francisco Bay Bridge, with some people chaining themselves together across lanes and shutting down a vital Bay Area route during the busy morning commute.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 16, 2023
By winter he was back in the woods with Charlie McDonald, cutting cottonwoods, chaining them to the draft horses, and skidding them out of the woods in snow and sleet.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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.
