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Chain

//ˈt͡ʃeɪn// name, noun, verb

Definitions

Proper Noun

1
A surname.

Noun

1
A series of interconnected rings or links usually made of metal.
"He wore a gold chain around the neck."
2
a series of (usually metal) rings or links fitted into one another to make a flexible ligament wordnet
3
A series of interconnected things.
"a chain of mountains"
4
a necklace made by stringing objects together wordnet
5
A series of stores or businesses with the same brand name.
"That chain of restaurants is expanding into our town."

Show 19 more definitions

6
anything that acts as a restraint wordnet
7
A number of atoms in a series, which combine to form a molecule. physical
"side chain"
8
a linked or connected series of objects wordnet
9
A series of interconnected links of known length, used as a measuring device.
10
(business) a number of similar establishments (stores or restaurants or banks or hotels or theaters) under one ownership wordnet
11
A long measuring tape.
12
a series of things depending on each other as if linked together wordnet
13
A unit of length, exactly equal to 22 yards, which is 4 rods or 100 links, and approximately equal to 20.12 metres; the length of a Gunter's surveying chain; the length of a cricket pitch.
""But it's too far—must be a quarter of a mile—and I've a portmanteau to carry." […] "Garn!" shouted the guard. "Taint ten chain. […]""
14
(chemistry) a series of linked atoms (generally in an organic molecule) wordnet
15
A totally ordered set, especially a totally ordered subset of a poset.
"We first find an approximation of the chain partition, i.e. a small but not minimum size set of chains which cover all elements of the poset."
16
a series of hills or mountains wordnet
17
A formal sum of cells in a CW complex of a certain dimension k (in which case the formal sums are called k'''-chains); a formal sum of simplices or cubes of a certain dimension in a simplical complex or cubical complex (respectively).
18
a unit of length wordnet
19
An element of a group (or module) in a chain complex. broadly
20
A sequence of linked house purchases, each of which is dependent on the preceding and succeeding purchase (said to be "broken" if a buyer or seller pulls out). British
21
That which confines, fetters, or secures; a bond.
"the chains of habit"
22
Iron links bolted to the side of a vessel to bold the dead-eyes connected with the shrouds; also, the channels. in-plural
23
A livery collar, a chain of office.
"And gainſt the General we will lift our ſwords And either lanch his greedie thirſting throat, Or take him priſoner, and his chaine ſhall ſerue For Manackles, till he be ranſom’d home."
24
The warp threads of a web.

Verb

1
To fasten something with a chain. transitive
"You should chain your bicycle to the railings to protect it from being stolen."
2
fasten or secure with chains wordnet
3
To connect as if with a chain, due to dependence, addiction, or other feelings figuratively
"Sometimes I feel like I'm chained to this computer."
4
connect or arrange into a chain by linking wordnet
5
To link multiple items together. intransitive

Show 7 more definitions

6
To secure someone with fetters. transitive
7
To obstruct the mouth of a river etc with a chain. transitive
8
To obligate. figuratively
"I miss when Game Of Thrones was wide open, but even then, the writers were chained to a narrative they didn’t yet know the ending of and feared straying too far from."
9
To relate data items with a chain of pointers.
10
To be chained to another data item.
"You don’t need to maintain state, or partition execution into different objects that then you can chain together (one executes the other on completion — chained continuations)."
11
To measure a distance using a 66-foot long chain, as in land surveying. transitive
"As the line was surveyed - a sufficient length being first chained by a surveyor, who was followed by axemen - trees had to be felled and a certain width maintained, which was specified in the contract, for drays had to follow, and the trees might have fallen upon the line and broken it down at the very outset."
12
To load and automatically run (a program). rare, transitive
"How do you get one program to chain another? I want to run DrawWorks2 then !Draw but as soon as you run Drawworks2 it finishes the batch file and doesn't go on to the next instruction! Is there a way without loading one of these automatic loaders?"

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English cheyne, chaine, from Old French chaine, chaene (“chain”), from Latin catēna (“chain”), from Proto-Indo-European *kat- (“to braid, twist; hut, shed”). Doublet of catena. Displaced native Middle English rakil and rakent (from Old English racente (“chain”)); see rackan.

Etymology 2

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