Chain Tʃeɪn Wore Extra Examples People Formed Human

• she wore a heavy gold chain around her neck.
• the mayor wore his chain of office.
• a bicycle chain
• the prisoners were kept in chains (= with chains around their arms and legs, to prevent them from escaping).

chain

1. a series of connected metal rings, used for pulling or fastening things; a length of chain used for a particular purpose
• SEE ALSO choke chain
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/choke-chain
• She wore a heavy gold chain around her neck.
• The mayor wore his chain of office.
• a bicycle chain
• The prisoners were kept in chains (= with chains around their arms and legs, to prevent them from escaping).
• They kept the dog on a chain all day long.
• a short length of chain

Extra Examples

• Let the dog off its chain.
• The prisoner was led away in chains.
• Put the chain on the door (= so the door can only be opened a little bit) before you go to bed.
2. a series of connected things or people
• SEE ALSO daisy chain
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/daisy-chain
• mountain/island chains
• Volunteers formed a human chain (= line of people) to rescue precious items from the burning house.
• to set in motion a chain of events
• a chain of command (= a system in an organization by which instructions are passed from one person to another)
• Our suppliers are the weakest link in the chain.

Extra Examples

• Volunteers formed a human chain to pass buckets of water to each other.
• She was personally involved in this chain of events.
• It's important to make sure the chain of communication is not broken.
• If any part of the chain of infection is broken, the spread of the disease will be stopped.
• I was next in the chain of command.
• the complex chain of events that led to the war
• Middlemen are important links in the chain.
• There has been an unbroken chain of great violinists in the family.
• The people formed a human chain to pass the supplies up the beach.
• a chain of volcanic islands
3. a group of shops or hotels owned by the same company
• a supermarket/hotel/retail chain
• a chain of stores/shops/restaurants

Extra Examples

• a chain of department stores
• a chain of clothes shops
• This hotel is part of a large chain.
4. a thing that limits somebody’s freedom or ability to do something
• the chains of fear/misery
5. a situation in which a number of people selling and buying houses must each complete the sale of their house before buying from the next person
6. a problem that prevents you from doing what you would like to do
• The responsibility was a ball and chain around my ankle.
7. one of the stages in a process or a line of argument
• Food production, processing and marketing are different links in the chain from farmer to consumer.
• Death is the last link in the chain.
8. the point at which a system or an organization is most likely to fail
• She went straight for the one weak link in the chain of his argument.

Word Origin

• Middle English: from Old French chaine, chaeine, from Latin catena ‘a chain’.