What does "chain" mean?
A series of interconnected rings or links usually made of metal.
Chain
/ˈt͡ʃeɪn/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A series of interconnected rings or links usually made of metal.
- Grammar: chain is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: string, accouple, accumulate, accumulative.
- Useful contrasts: antichain, detach, disconnect.
- Usage evidence: The chain of crimes are thought to have been committed by the same man.
How to use "chain"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "chain" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "chain" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "chain" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "chain" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "chain" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "string" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "chain", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
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?"
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Antonyms
Example
"The chain of crimes are thought to have been committed by the same man."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "chain"?
Common synonyms include: string, accouple, accumulate, accumulative, additive, additory.
How do you use "chain" in a sentence?
The chain of crimes are thought to have been committed by the same man.
How do you pronounce "chain"?
Pronounced /ˈt͡ʃeɪn/.
Etymology
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.