noun
1 line of rings joined together
ADJECTIVE
▪ heavy
▪ thin
▪ gold , silver
▪
She wore a long gold ~ around her neck.
▪ rusty
▪ bicycle
▪ key
▪ daisy , paper
… OF CHAIN
▪ length
VERB + CHAIN
▪ pull , pull at , yank , yank at
CHAIN + VERB
▪ clank
CHAIN + NOUN
▪ mail (= protective covering made of chains)
PREPOSITION
▪ in ~s
▪
The prisoner was led away in ~s.
▪ off sb's/the ~
▪
Let the dog off its ~.
▪ on a/the ~
▪
They kept the dog on a ~ all day long.
PHRASES
▪ a ~ of office ( BrE )
▪
The mayor was wearing his ~ of office.
▪ a ~ on the door
▪
Put the ~ on the door before you go to bed.
▪ a link in the ~
▪
Our suppliers are the weakest link in the ~.
2 number of things in a line
ADJECTIVE
▪ island , mountain
▪ human
VERB + CHAIN
▪ form
▪
The people formed a human ~ to pass the supplies up the beach.
PREPOSITION
▪ ~ of
▪
a ~ of volcanic islands
3 group of shops/stores, etc. owned by the same company
ADJECTIVE
▪ big , large , major
▪ small
▪ fast-food , grocery ( esp. AmE ), hotel , restaurant , retail , supermarket , etc.
CHAIN + NOUN
▪ store
PREPOSITION
▪ ~ of
▪
a ~ of department stores
PHRASES
▪ part of a ~
▪
This hotel is part of a large ~.
4 number of connected events or situations
ADJECTIVE
▪ long
▪ complex
▪
the complex ~ of events that led to the war
▪ unbroken
▪
He is the latest in an unbroken ~ of entertainers.
▪ causal
▪ food , supply
▪
efforts to ensure that dioxins do not enter the food ~
VERB + CHAIN
▪ break
CHAIN + NOUN
▪ reaction
▪ letter
PHRASES
▪ a ~ of command (= a system by which instructions are passed from one person to another)
▪ a ~ of events