• IPA: /ˈt͡ʃeɪn/

chain (plural chains)

1. A series of interconnected rings or links usually made of metal.

   He wore a gold chain around the neck.

2. A series of interconnected things.

   a chain of mountains

   a chain of ideas, one leading to the next

   This led to an unfortunate chain of events.

3. A series of stores or businesses with the same brand name.

   That chain of restaurants is expanding into our town.

4. (chemistry) A number of atoms in a series, which combine to form a molecule.

   When examined, the molecular chain included oxygen and hydrogen.

5. (surveying) A series of interconnected links of known length, used as a measuring device.
6. (surveying) A long measuring tape.
7. A unit of length equal to 22 yards. The length of a Gunter's surveying chain. The length of a cricket pitch. Equal to 20.12 metres, 4 rods, or 100 links.
   • 1938, Xavier Herbert, Capricornia, New York: D. Appleton-Century, 1943, Chapter X, p. 177,

     "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. […] "

8. (mathematics, set theory, order theory) A totally ordered set, especially a totally ordered subset of a poset.
   • 2003, Jeremy P. Spinrad, Efficient Graph Representations, American Mathematical Society, page 108 ↗,

     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.

9. (British) 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).
10. That which confines, fetters, or secures; a bond.

    the chains of habit

    • 1667, John Milton, “Book 6”, in Paradise Lost. A Poem Written in Ten Books, London: Printed [by Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […] [a]nd by Robert Boulter […] [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], OCLC 228722708 ↗; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: The Text Exactly Reproduced from the First Edition of 1667: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554 ↗:

      Driven down / To chains of darkness and the undying worm.

11. (nautical, in the plural) Iron links bolted to the side of a vessel to bold the dead-eyes connected with the shrouds; also, the channels.
12. (weaving) The warp threads of a web.

• (series of interconnected rings or links) rackle
• (series of interconnected things) See also Thesaurus:sequence

• French: chaîne
• German: Kette
• Italian: catena
• Portuguese: cadeia, corrente
• Russian: цепь
• Spanish: cadena

• French: chaîne
• German: Kette
• Italian: catena
• Portuguese: cadeia
• Russian: цепь
• Spanish: cadena

• Russian: кандалы́

• French: chaîne
• German: Kette
• Italian: catena
• Portuguese: cadeia
• Russian: сеть
• Spanish: cadena

• French: chaîne
• German: Kette
• Italian: catena
• Portuguese: cadeia
• Russian: цепо́чка
• Spanish: cadena

• Italian: catena
• Russian: цепо́чка

chain (chains, present participle chaining; past and past participle chained)

1. (transitive) To fasten something with a chain.
2. (intransitive) To link multiple items together.
3. (transitive) To secure someone with fetters.
4. (transitive) To obstruct the mouth of a river etc with a chain.
5. (figurative) To obligate.
6. (computing) To relate data items with a chain of pointers.
7. (computing) To be chained to another data item.
8. (transitive) To measure a distance using a 66-foot long chain, as in land surveying.
9. (transitive, computing, rare, associated with Acorn Computers) To load and automatically run (a program).
   • 1996, "Mr D Walsh", Running two programs from a batch file (on newsgroup comp.sys.acorn.misc)

     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?

   • 1998, "Juan Flynn", BBC software transmitted on TV - how to load? (on newsgroup comp.sys.acorn.misc)

     You can do LOAD "" or CHAIN "" to load or chain the next program if I remember correctly (it's been a loooong time since I've used a tape on an Acorn!)

   • 2006, "Richard Porter", SpamStamp double headers (on newsgroup comp.sys.acorn.apps)

     Recent versions of AntiSpam no longer use the Config file but have a Settings file instead, so when I updated the Config file to chain SpamStamp it had no effect as it was a redundant file.

• French: enchaîner
• Italian: incatenare

• French: enchaîner
• German: ketten
• Italian: concatenare
• Spanish: encadenar

• French: chaîner

1. Surname