unchain
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
-
to remove a chain or chains from
-
to set at liberty; make free
Other Word Forms
- unchainable adjective
Etymology
Origin of unchain
Explanation
To unchain is to set free by removing restraints. If you want to ride your bike, unchain it from the bike rack. And if you want your dog to fetch, unchain her so she can run. If a something is secured with chains, you'll need to unchain it to release it. A high-security prisoner will need a guard to unchain her before she can use the telephone, and workers for an animal rescue organization might unchain dogs that have been cruelly chained outdoors in the cold. Another way to unchain something is more figurative: "I always feel unchained from my obligations when school ends in the summer!"
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.
If California communities are to thrive in a future without more people, we’re going to have to figure out how to unchain ourselves from that idea.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2025
Wittman also can unchain DeJuan Blair, the free-agent signee who has been shackled to the pine for six consecutive games.
From Washington Times • Nov. 24, 2014
And anyway, it's the same Leroy Fer who bought his girlfriend a £22,000 horse, but then had to unchain Django and sell him as she lived in a block of flats!
From The Guardian • Jan. 28, 2013
I want to buy scuba gear, unchain you and let you be all you can be.
From Washington Post • Jan. 24, 2013
I unchain my bike and wheel it out onto the street.
From "They Both Die at the End" by Adam Silvera
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.
