ball and chain
"ball-and-chain" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ball and chain” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 14
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A heavy iron ball attached to a prisoner's leg by a chain as a means of restraint.
Corpus desk
Index EN-ball-and-chain · ball and chain · English
ball and chain · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 14 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "B" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | ball and chain |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 14 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “ball and chain” in English
Rare enough to double-check
ball and chain is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for ball and chain in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is ball and chain, spelled B-A-L-L- -A-N-D- -C-H-A-I-N.
Definition
- 1A heavy iron ball attached to a prisoner's leg by a chain as a means of restraint.
- 2One's spouse, especially a wife, as a symbol of restraint.
- 3Anything that restricts one's freedom or opportunities.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how ball and chain appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
In those days a prisoner here had to carry his ball and chain when he was walking to the chow hall.
Well, I got one foot on the platform / The other foot on the train / I'm goin' back to New Orleans / To wear that ball and chain
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.