open chain

1. 1.

   a chain of atoms in a molecule whose ends are not joined to form a ring

   Antonymsclosed chain

   Broaderchain

   Narrowerbranched chainstraight chain

Questions about open chain

What does open chain mean?

open chain means "a chain of atoms in a molecule whose ends are not joined to form a ring".

What is the opposite of open chain?

The recorded antonyms are closed chain.

Is open chain a common word?

open chain is banded "Rare" — specialist or archaic — most readers will not have met it. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.