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say it: chayn
chain is a noun and verb meaning "a series of things depending on each other as if linked together". It carries 12 recorded senses.
a series of things depending on each other as if linked together
“the chain of command”
“a complicated concatenation of circumstances”
(chemistry) a series of linked atoms (generally in an organic molecule)
chemistry
a series of (usually metal) rings or links fitted into one another to make a flexible ligament
(business) a number of similar establishments (stores or restaurants or banks or hotels or theaters) under one ownership
commercial enterprise
anything that acts as a restraint
a unit of length
British biochemist (born in Germany) who isolated and purified penicillin, which had been discovered in 1928 by Sir Alexander Fleming (1906-1979)
a series of hills or mountains
“the valley was between two ranges of hills”
“the plains lay just beyond the mountain range”
connect or arrange into a chain by linking
Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.
Definitions, synonyms and semantic relations for chain come from Princeton University’s WordNet. The pronunciation comes from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. Commonness is measured against a corpus of everyday English. Full sources and licences.