chain
/ˈt͡ʃeɪn/noun, verb
chain is spelled C-H-A-I-N. The wrong spelling people search most is chaing: about 60 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 179 of all searches for the word. Chain is a noun meaning “A series of interconnected rings or links usually made of metal”. The plural of chain is chains.
How do you spell chain?
Chain is spelled C-H-A-I-N. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 180 of the searches for chain in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
What does chain mean?
noun
- 1
A series of interconnected rings or links usually made of metal.
He wore a gold chain around the neck.
- 2
An accessory, adornment or insignia comprising, containing or depicting a series of links.
wallet chain
- 3
A livery collar, a chain of office.
- 4
That which confines, fetters, or secures; a bond.
the chains of habit
- 5
A snow chain.
He put chains on my tires.
- 6
A bicycle chain.
My bike needs a chain.
- 7
A pair of sticks connected by a ten yard chain, used to measure a down in American football.
- 8
A watchchain.
His watch's chain was gold-plated.
verb
- 1
To fasten something with a chain.
You should chain your bicycle to the railings to protect it from being stolen.
- 2
To connect as if with a chain, due to dependence, addiction, or other feelings
Sometimes I feel like I'm chained to this computer.
- 3
To link multiple items together.
- 4
To secure someone with fetters.
- 5
To obstruct the mouth of a river etc with a chain.
- 6
To obligate.
- 7
To relate data items with a chain of pointers.
- 8
To be chained to another data item.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you pronounce chain?
- /ˈt͡ʃeɪn/
Chain has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-chain.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Benoît_Prieur-chain.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of chain
- chains plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- chaining participle, present
- chained participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How common is chain?
Chain appears 45 times per million words in written English, the 2,253rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you abbreviate chain?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of chain: ch.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Chain in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | chaîne , enchaîner , chaîner |
| German | Kette , anketten , ketten |
| Portuguese | cadeia, corrente , encadear |
| Spanish | cadena, catenario , encadenar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does chain come from?
From Middle English cheyne, chaine, from Old French chaeine, chaene (“chain”), from Latin catēna (“chain”), from Proto-Indo-European *kat- (“to braid, twist; hut, shed”). Doublet of catena. Displaced native Middle English rakil and rakent (from Old English racente (“chain”)); see rackan.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).