English Explanatory Dictionary

chain

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A series of interconnected rings or links usually made of metal.
  2. A series of interconnected things.
  3. A series of stores or businesses with the same brand name.
  4. A number of atoms in a series, which combine to form a molecule.
  5. A series of interconnected links of known length, used as a measuring device.
  6. A long measuring tape.
  7. 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.
  8. A totally ordered set, especially a totally ordered subset of a poset.
  9. 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).
  10. An element of a group (or module) in a chain complex.
  11. 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).
  12. That which confines, fetters, or secures; a bond.
verb
  1. To fasten something with a chain.
  2. To connect as if with a chain, due to dependence, addiction, or other feelings
  3. To link multiple items together.
  4. To secure someone with fetters.
  5. To obstruct the mouth of a river etc with a chain.
  6. To obligate.
  7. To relate data items with a chain of pointers.
  8. To be chained to another data item.
  9. To measure a distance using a 66-foot long chain, as in land surveying.
  10. To load and automatically run (a program).
name
  1. A surname.

Pronunciation

/ˈt͡ʃeɪn/ en-us-chain.ogg LL-Q1860 (eng)-Benoît Prieur-chain.wav

Word forms

chain chains chaining chained

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.

Synonyms

rackle

Derived words

academy chain a chain is only as strong as its weakest link air chain airchain antichain ascending chain condition backchain ball and chain ball chain belly chain beta chain block chain blockchain branched-chain brequet chain catena chainable chainage chain armour chain binder chain boat chainbolt chain bridge chain-cable chain cable chain case chaincase chain code chain complex chain conveyor chain dance chain drill chain drive chain-driven chainer chainfall chain fern chain ferry chain fountain chain fruit chain gang chain-ganger chain group chain growth polymerization chainguard chain guard chain gun chain hobble chain-ladder method chain latch chainless chainlet chain letter chain-light chain lightning chainlike chainlink chain-link chainlink fence chain locker
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