Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - chain

(chains, chaining, chained) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. A chain consists of metal rings connected together in a line. His open shirt revealed a fat gold chain... The dogs were leaping and growling at the full stretch of their chains. N-COUNT 2. If prisoners are in chains, they have thick rings of metal round their wrists or ankles to prevent them from escaping. He’d spent four and a half years in windowless cells, much of the time in chains. N-PLURAL: in N 3. If a person or thing is chained to something, they are fastened to it with a chain. The dog was chained to the leg of the one solid garden seat... She chained her bike to the railings... We were sitting together in our cell, chained to the wall. VERB: be V-ed to n, V n to n, V-ed, also V n adv/prep • Chain up means the same as chain. I’ll lock the doors and chain you up... All the rowing boats were chained up. PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V-ed P, also V P n (not pron) 4. A chain of things is a group of them existing or arranged in a line. ...a chain of islands known as the Windward Islands... Students tried to form a human chain around the parliament. N-COUNT: N of n 5. A chain of shops, hotels, or other businesses is a number of them owned by the same person or company. ...a large supermarket chain. ...Italy’s leading chain of cinemas. N-COUNT: with supp 6. A chain of events is a series of them happening one after another. ...the bizarre chain of events that led to his departure in January 1938. = series N-SING: N of n 7. see also food chain