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