CHAIN | Meaning, Definition In Cambridge English Dictionary

Meaning of chain in English chainnoun uk /tʃeɪn/ us /tʃeɪn/

chain noun (CONNECTED THINGS)

Add to word list Add to word list [ C ] a series of things of the same type connected in a line, or a series of people standing in a line: The synthetic polymer is a plastic composed of long chains of molecules. As part of the centenary celebrations a chain of beacons was lit across the country. Peace campaigners formed a chain around the military base. [ C ] a line of connected mountains: The Rockies are a mountain chain in North America. These peaks are all part of the same Himalaya chain. B2 [ C ] a set of connected events, usually where one causes the next: chain of events His resignation was followed by a remarkable chain of events. In the story, a chain of cause and effect leads us on an emotional journey of two families.break a chain Intervention like this can break the chain of debt and worry. See also blockchain carbon chain cold chain food chain Keychain supply chain

• Volunteers formed a chain to pass buckets of water along.
• If just one of the servers on that long chain is out of action, the whole system fails.
• Fiji is a small nation composed of a chain of islands.
• Colombia is intersected by three parallel Andean mountain chains.
• Greece's Peloponnese peninsula has a chain of mountain ranges dominated by Mount Taygetus.
• This type of attack triggers an unending chain of actions and reactions.
• The lawyers have to establish a chain of causation by which the specific acts of specific people led to this incident.

Things collected in lines or rings

• column
• crocodile
• file
• in single file
• interrow
• line
• line something with something
• queue
• rank
• ring
• rope
• row
• single file
• string
• thread
• tier
• train
• two-tier

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Geography: hills & mountains Events and occurrences

chain noun (BUSINESSES)

[ C ] a group of shops, restaurants, hotels, or other businesses owned by the same company : The supermarket chain announced that it was cutting the cost of all its fresh and frozen meat. She has built up a chain of 180 bookshops across the country. I prefer to shop at independent shops rather than chains.

• They are not only the world's biggest fast-food chain, but also the industry's trendsetter.
• Jonson has done the whole range of hotel work, from porter to owner of a large chain of hotels.
• I know it's a chain, but the food is good.

Enterprises

• acquiree
• acquirer
• acquiror
• agency
• answering service
• clicks and mortar idiom
• conglomerate
• est.
• estate agent
• financial technology
• fintech
• firm
• org
• organizational
• organizationally
• parent company
• partner up phrasal verb
• white-shoe
• wholly owned
• zombie company

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chain noun (RINGS)

A2 [ C or U ] (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. See also keychain   PM Images/DigitalVision/GettyImages chains [ plural ] another word for snow chains : Bear in mind that you can only use chains where snow or ice protects the road surface from damage. [ plural ] a series of metal rings that are attached to two posts, used in American football to measure the distance between two points on the field : The referees had to bring out the chains to determine if the ball carrier got a first down. See more  in chains tied with chains: The hostages were kept in chains for 23 hours a day. See more [ plural ] a fact or situation that limits a person's freedom: At last the country has freed itself from the chains of the authoritarian regime. Cords, ropes, cables & string

• bell pull
• bowline
• bungee
• cable
• catgut
• cord
• fibre
• halyard
• harness
• landline
• lanyard
• lariat
• lasso
• lead rope
• rein
• rope
• shackles
• shock cord
• stringed
• stringy

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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Limiting and restricting

chain noun (HOUSE SALE)

[ C ] UK 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. Mortgages & real estate

• absentee landowner
• absentee owner
• blockbusting
• brick
• BTL
• endowment mortgage
• equity
• freeholder
• housebuyer
• landholding
• letting
• mortgage broker
• mortgage payment
• mortgagee
• non-landowner
• non-prime
• off-plan
• realty
• repossess
• vacancy

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chain noun (MEASUREMENT)

[ C ] a unit of measurement for length equal to 66 feet: The chain is a standard measure in the United Kingdom, defined in the Weights and Measures Act 1985. The planned railway line would involve the construction of a tunnel, 48 chains long.

• There is a description of roads, railways, natural and man-made features, with precise distances in chains and feet.
• He would plough furrows of 10 chains or 220 yards.
• 10 square chains is equal to an acre.

Miscellaneous units of measurement

• acre
• acreage
• caloric
• calorie
• customary unit
• denier
• dense
• dioptre
• farad
• kHz
• kilowatt
• megahertz
• psi
• radian
• refractive index
• rod
• roentgen
• röntgen
• Scoville scale
• SI unit

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Idioms

off the chain move the chains chainverb [ T usually + adv/prep ] uk /tʃeɪn/ us /tʃeɪn/

chain verb [T usually + adv/prep] (PUT IN CHAINS)

to fasten someone or something using a chain: chain something up It's so cruel to keep a pony chained up like that all the time.chain someone/something/yourself to something They chained themselves to lampposts in protest at the judge's decision. Fastening and tying

• adhesive tape
• be locked together idiom
• belay
• bind
• bind and gag someone
• board something up phrasal verb
• clamp
• gag
• harness
• hobble
• hogtie
• hold on idiom
• hold something on with something
• knot
• sellotape
• slipknot
• square knot
• strap
• strap someone in phrasal verb
• tack

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chain verb [T usually + adv/prep] (LINK)

[ often passive ] (also chain together) to join objects together so that they form one long connected object: The beads are chained together in 7-foot lengths. He succeeded in chaining together a long string of synthetic genes to re-create a portion of the DNA of a simple bacterium. [ often passive ] (also chain together) to connect things so that they happen together, one after another: The system allows you to send individual commands or chain them together. These filters can be chained to each other to create sequences of filters.be chained with The second operation may be chained with the first operation, or performed separately.

• USB allows all your devices such as a keyboard, mouse, printer, etc. to be chained together and connected to a single USB port.
• The frames are containers for text that can be chained together to contain a single story.
• Make subtle changes to parts of the drum sequence by altering positions and rhythms, and chain them in a random order.
• The team managed to chain together some magical passages of play.

Connecting and combining

• abut
• additive
• adjoin
• affix something to something
• agglomerate
• converge
• convergence
• cor
• couple something together
• couple something with something
• interweave
• isthmic
• join something to something
• join something together
• jointed
• together
• twin
• umbilical
• unification
• unified

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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Linking and relating

Phrasal verb

chain someone to something (Definition of chain from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

chain | American Dictionary

chainnoun [ C ] us /tʃeɪn/

chain noun [C] (CONNECTED RINGS)

Add to word list Add to word list 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. A chain is also a length of connected rings worn as jewelry: Mary wore a silver chain around her neck.

chain noun [C] (RELATED THINGS)

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. chainverb [ T ] us /tʃeɪn/

chain verb [T] (ATTACH)

to tie or connect together with a chain: An old bicycle was chained to a post near the front door. If you are chained to something, you work for long periods with it: I had no intention of spending my day chained to the stove. (Definition of chain from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

chain | Business English

chainnoun [ C ] uk /tʃeɪn/ us Add to word list Add to word list COMMERCE 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 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. PROPERTY   UK 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

See also

distribution chain production chain supply chain value chain (Definition of chain from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of chain

chain Text that is no longer spoken by a mouth to be heard by an ear marks one of the limits of the theory of chains. From the Cambridge English Corpus He would put an end to "damnations" with the promise of a decade in chains. From the Cambridge English Corpus I shall first do my best to link together the chains of this argument. From the Cambridge English Corpus Here the amplified beams of both chains are superposed automatically due to the optical properties of the phase conjugated signal. From the Cambridge English Corpus By using "these powerladen exotics" as gifts, core elites could create patron- client chains similar to the compadre networks referred to earlier. From the Cambridge English Corpus Now, having this in mind, we may consider the maximal chains of consecutively overlapping truly maximal subwords of u having the k-factorization property. From the Cambridge English Corpus The high degree of heterogeneity means indistinguishable strains are likely to represent chains of recent transmission [5]. From the Cambridge English Corpus One such application area is the coordination of production and distribution in supply chains. From the Cambridge English Corpus Arguments can be chained by regarding data also as claims, for which further data can be provided. From the Cambridge English Corpus Cyanopolyynes: carbon chains formation in a carbon arc mimicking the formation of carbon chains in the circumstellar medium. From the Cambridge English Corpus The aliphatic content indicates the presence of longer or less branched aliphatic chains that those observed in the interstellar medium. From the Cambridge English Corpus In (15a) who satisfies the wh-criterion (which is now stated in terms of chains). From the Cambridge English Corpus In (10) and (11) (see next section), pronounced positions of the derivational chains are indicated by italicization. From the Cambridge English Corpus If my feet are in chains, my heart is free. From the Cambridge English Corpus A subset of a pointed cpo is admissible if it is pointed and closed under sups of chains. From the Cambridge English Corpus See all examples of chain These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations with chain

chain

These are words often used in combination with chain.

Click on a collocation to see more examples of it.

bicycle chainLet us take the illustration of the young man who used the bicycle chain. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0   broken chainTherefore, it is necessary to involve the state, the education system and the social services to restore this broken chain. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0   causal chainNote that if either of these perspectives is taken, the causal chain has effectively been shortened and has acquired new beginning and end points. From the Cambridge English Corpus   These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors. See all collocations with chain What is the pronunciation of chain?

Translations of chain

in Chinese (Traditional) 有聯繫的事, 一連串，一系列（的事物）, 鏈條… See more in Chinese (Simplified) 有联系的事, 一连串，一系列（的事物）, 链条… See more in Spanish cadena, ristra, cordillera… See more in Portuguese série (de acontecimentos), cadeia, corrente… See more in Marathi in Japanese in Turkish in French in Catalan in Dutch in Tamil in Hindi in Gujarati in Danish in Swedish in Malay in German in Norwegian in Urdu in Ukrainian in Telugu in Bengali in Czech in Indonesian in Thai in Vietnamese in Polish in Korean in Italian साखळी… See more 鎖, チェーン, （レストラン、店の）チェーン… See more zincir, halka, mağazalar/lokantalar zinciri… See more chaîne [feminine], série [feminine], suite [feminine]… See more cadena, sèrie, encadenar… See more ketting, reeks, ketenen… See more இணைக்கப்பட்ட அல்லது தொடர்புடைய விஷயங்களின் தொகுப்பு, (ஒரு நீளம்) மோதிரங்கள் பொதுவாக உலோகத்தால் ஆனது, அவை ஒன்றாக இணைக்கப்பட்டு கட்டுதல்… See more श्रृंखला, सिलसिला, ज़ंजीर… See more ચેન, શ્રેણી, સિલસિલો… See more kæde, lænke, række… See more kedja, kätting, följd… See more rantai, rentetan, merantaikan… See more die Kette, anketten… See more lenke [masculine], kjetting [masculine], kjede [masculine]… See more لمبا سلسلہ, کسی بھی چیز کا وسیع دائرہ, متعلقہ واقعات کا سلسلہ… See more ланцюг, цеп, ланцюжок… See more ముడివడి ఉన్న లేక పరస్పర సంబంధం ఉన్న వస్తువుల వర్గం/ శ్రేణి/వరుస, గొలుసు/సంకెల… See more একই মালিকানায় একাধিক ব্যবসায়িক সংস্থা, শিকল, শৃঙ্খল… See more řetěz, řetízek, uvázat na řetěz… See more rantai, rangkaian, merantai… See more โซ่, เหตุการณ์ที่เกิดต่อเนื่องกัน, ล่ามโซ่… See more dây xích, chuỗi, xích lại… See more łańcuch, łańcuszek, sieć… See more 체인, 사슬, 체인점… See more catena, incatenare, serie… See more Need a translator?

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chagrined chai chai latte chai tea latte chain chain drive BETA chain gang chain letter chain mail {{#randomImageQuizHook.filename}} {{#randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} Test your vocabulary with our fun image quizzes Try a quiz now {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{^randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.filename}}

More meanings of chain

• chain of command
• chain reaction
• chain saw
• food chain
• chain drive
• chain gang
• chain-link fence

See all meanings

• chain someone to something phrasal verb

See all phrasal verb meanings

• the food chain phrase
• off the chain idiom

See all idioms and phrases

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• English   
  • Noun 
    • chain (CONNECTED THINGS)
    • chain (BUSINESSES)
    • chain (RINGS)
    • chains
    • in chains
    • chain (HOUSE SALE)
    • chain (MEASUREMENT)
  • Verb 
    • chain (PUT IN CHAINS)
    • chain (LINK)
• American   
  • Noun 
    • chain (CONNECTED RINGS)
    • chain (RELATED THINGS)
  • Verb 
    • chain (ATTACH)
• Business   Noun
• Examples
• Collocations

• Translations
• Grammar
• All translations

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