chains Meaning, Definition & Usage

1. noun metal shackles; for hands or legs
   irons.
   
2. noun a series of things depending on each other as if linked together
   concatenation; chain.
   
   • the chain of command
   • a complicated concatenation of circumstances
3. noun (chemistry) a series of linked atoms (generally in an organic molecule)
   chemical chain; chain.
   
4. noun a series of (usually metal) rings or links fitted into one another to make a flexible ligament
   chain.
   
5. noun (business) a number of similar establishments (stores or restaurants or banks or hotels or theaters) under one ownership
   chain.
   
6. noun anything that acts as a restraint
   chain.
   
7. noun a unit of length
   chain.
   
8. noun British biochemist (born in Germany) who isolated and purified penicillin, which had been discovered in 1928 by Sir Alexander Fleming (1906-1979)
   Sir Ernst Boris Chain; Ernst Boris Chain; Chain.
   
9. noun a series of hills or mountains
   mountain range; chain; mountain chain; range of mountains; chain of mountains; range.
   
   • the valley was between two ranges of hills
   • the plains lay just beyond the mountain range
10. noun a linked or connected series of objects
    chain.
    
    • a chain of daisies
11. noun a necklace made by a stringing objects together;
    strand; string; chain.
    
    • a string of beads
    • a strand of pearls
12. verb connect or arrange into a chain by linking
    chain.
    
13. verb fasten or secure with chains
    chain.
    
    • Chain the chairs together

WordNet