Meaning of chain In English

• 0 a set of connected or related things:

  • She has built up a chain of 180 bookshops across the country.

  • His resignation was followed by a remarkable chain of events.

• 1 (a length of) rings usually made of metal that are connected together and used for fastening, pulling, supporting, or limiting freedom, or as jewellery:

  • The gates were locked with a padlock and a heavy steel chain.

  • Put the chain on the door if you are alone in the house.

  • Mary was wearing a beautiful silver chain around her neck.

  • Bear in mind that you can only use chains where snow or ice protects the road surface from damage.

  • The hostages were kept in chains for 23 hours a day.

  • At last the country has freed itself from the chains of the authoritarian regime.

• 2 a situation in which someone selling a house cannot complete the sale because the person who wants to buy it needs to sell their house first:

  • Some sellers refuse to exchange contracts with buyers who are in a chain.

• 3 to fasten someone or something using a chain:

  • It's so cruel to keep a pony chained up like that all the time.

  • They chained themselves to lampposts in protest at the judge's decision.

  • figurative I don't want a job where I'm chained to a desk for eight hours a day.

• 4 a length of metal rings that are connected together and used for fastening or supporting, and in machinery:

  • She looped the chain around her bike and locked it to the fence.

  • Mary wore a silver chain around her neck.

• 5 a set of connected or related things:

  • a mountain chain

  • a chain of supermarkets

  • That set in motion a chain of events that changed her life forever.

• 6 to tie or connect together with a chain:

  • An old bicycle was chained to a post near the front door.

  • I had no intention of spending my day chained to the stove.

• 7 a group of similar businesses, such as restaurants or hotels, which are all owned and controlled by the same organization:

  • hotel/supermarket/fast-food chain The well-known fast-food chain has expanded to over 20,000 restaurants in 17 countries.

  • chain restaurants/stores/retailers

  • a chain of supermarkets/bookstores/department stores

• 8 a system of people, processes, or organizations that work together in a particular order:

  • This unit examines the stages in the chain of production of tea, from the leaves in Sri Lanka to the cup in the UK.

  • chain of command/power/authority Employee complaints were taken all the way up the corporate chain of command.

• 9 a situation in which someone cannot complete the sale of their house because the person who wants to buy it needs to sell their house first:

  • Some house sellers refuse to exchange contracts with buyers who are in a chain