closed chain

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noun Chemistry.

three or more atoms linked together to form a ring or cycle and represented accordingly by its structural formula.

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Compare open chain.

Origin of closed chain

First recorded in 1900–05

Words nearby closed chain

close-cropped, closed, closed book, closed caption, closed-captioned, closed chain, closed circuit, closed-circuit television, closed community, closed cornice, closed corporation

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use closed chain in a sentence

He closed his eyes, imagining the virgins, imagining away the pain in his head and groin.
Powerful Congressman Writes About ‘Fleshy Breasts’|Asawin Suebsaeng|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Closed courthouses, rogue clerks, and misleading statements from the attorney general as Florida welcomes same-sex marriage.
The Back Alley, Low Blow-Ridden Fight to Stop Gay Marriage in Florida Is Finally Over|Jay Michaelson|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I wish I could be writing to you under better circumstances, but unfortunately those avenues have closed up.
Dear Leelah, We Will Fight On For You: A Letter to a Dead Trans Teen|Parker Molloy|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
You expect soldiers of all ranks to understand the need to respect the chain of command, regardless of personal feelings.
We Need Our Police to Be Better Than This|Nick Gillespie|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The FCC investigation recently closed its comment period on the Marriott case.
How ‘Ethical’ Hotel Chain Marriott Gouges Guests in the Name of Wi-Fi Security|Kyle Chayka|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She stood, in her young purity, at one end of the chain of years, and Mrs. Chepstow—did she really stand at the other?
Bella Donna|Robert Hichens
And now I can recall that his eyes closed, and from his lips I caught a sigh, and then he rolled to the floor.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux
The next instant the door closed softly behind them, and she went out of his life as a wife forever.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux
He looked up through half closed eyes to see the Reverend standing over him.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux
And it might be a good idea for you to give your men a gentle hint to keep their mouths closed about this affair—all of it.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair

British Dictionary definitions for closed chain

closed chain

noun

chem another name for ring 1 (def. 18)

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

Scientific definitions for closed chain

closed chain

[ klōsd ]

An arrangement of atoms of the same type that forms a ring. Benzene and naphthalene are closed-chain compounds.