chain

 
Pronunciation: /tʃeɪn/

noun

  • 1a series of linked metal rings used for fastening or securing something, or for pulling loads: he slid the bolts on the front door and put the safety chain across the drug dealer is being kept in chains
  • a decorative chain worn round the neck as jewellery or as a badge of office: a tall man with a heavy gold chain round his neck
  • a restrictive force or factor: workers secured by the chains of the labour market
  • 2a sequence of items of the same type forming a line: he kept the chain of buckets supplied with water
  • a series of connected elements: the action would initiate a chain of events
  • a connected series of mountains: a mountain chain
  • a group of hotels, restaurants, or shops owned by the same company: the agency is part of a nationwide chain
  • British a situation in which the sale of a house or flat is dependent on the prospective buyer selling their own or the seller buying another first: our offer was accepted this morning and there’s no chain
  • a part of a molecule consisting of a number of atoms bonded together in a linear sequence.
  • a figure in a quadrille or similar dance, in which dancers meet and pass each other in a continuous sequence.
  • 3a jointed measuring line consisting of linked metal rods.
  • a measure of length equivalent to a chain (66 ft).
  • 4 (chains) a structure of planks projecting horizontally from a sailing ship’s sides abreast of the masts, used to widen the basis for the shrouds.
    [formed earlier of iron plates]

verb

[with object]
  • fasten or secure with a chain: she chained her bicycle to the railings
  • confine with a chain: he had been chained up figurative as an actuary you will not be chained to a desk

Phrases

pull (or yank) someone's chain

informal tease someone by leading them to believe something untrue: he’s just pulling your chain

Origin:

Middle English: from Old French chaine, chaeine, from Latin catena 'a chain'