chain gang         312 |

gold chain around her neck. MSI#—0 The mayor wore his chain of office.

0 a bicycle chain     0 The prisoners

were kept in chains (= with chains around their arms and legs, to prevent them from escaping). 0 SI # W H0 — picture o bicycle, jewellery, rope

                 CONNECTED THINGS £ j& ft 2 [C] a series of con­

nected things or people —( Al&S^ ) : to set in motion a chain of events   0 a

chain of command (= a system in an organization by which instructions are passed from one person to another)   o mountain/island chains |L| ;

!Bj 0 Volunteers formed a human chain to rescue precious items from the burning house. A US # If- fiZ —

— see also food chain

                 OF SHOPS/HOTELS MfB ; WM 3 [C] a group of shops/ stores or hotels owned by the same company j§j 0: a chain of supermarkets/a supermarket chain $$

iTO

                 RESTRICTION |lg flji] 4 [C, usually pi.] (formal or literary) a thing that restricts sb’s freedom or ability to do sth

: the chains of fear/misery &

rntfitijm

                 IN HOUSE BUYING 5 [C, usually sing.] (BrE) a situation in which a number of people selling and buying houses must each complete the sale of their house before buying from the next person

ITiTTn see ball n., link n., weak verb [VN] [often passive] ~ sb/sth (to sb/sth) | ~ sb/sth (up) to fasten sth with a chain; to fasten sb/sth to another person or thing with a chain, so that they do not escape or get stolen   BM ) : The doors

were always locked and chained. IP&f] &H 0 0 She chained her bicycle to the gate. MAMAJESfrA-lft /EAn±o o The dog was chained up for the night. $c|b] o (figurative) I’ve been chained to my desk all week (= because there was so much work).

chain gang noun a group of prisoners chained together and forced to work —

W02E

chain letter noun a letter sent to several people asking them to make copies of the letter and send them on to more people  ( itftfsA)

,chain-,link 'fence noun a fence made of wire in a diamond pattern          ■— picture o page R24

'chain mail (also mail) noun [u] armour (= covering to protect the body when fighting) made of small metal rings linked together fftA A (     )

.chain re'action noun 1 (chemistry it, physics tyj) a chemical or nuclear change that forms products which themselves cause more changes and new products MiA fx)$L 2 a series of events, each of which causes the next ( A1#  It set off a chain reaction in the

international money markets. ^ # & 01^ St rtf ^

-JfcSJi&T&fll&Jfi.

chain-saw /• tjeinso:/ noun a tool made of a chain with sharp teeth set in it, that is driven by a motor and used for cutting wood Ufg

'chain-smoke verb [V, VN] to smoke cigarettes continuously, lighting the next one from the one you have just smoked — A — A life ( 'J® ) 'chain- smoker noun

'chain store (BrE also mul-tiple, .multiple store) noun a shop/store that is one of a series of similar shops/ stores owned by the same company Chair 0-w /tjea(r); NAmE tjer/ noun, verb

                 noun 1 [C] a piece of furniture for one person to sit on,

with a back, a seat and four legs A:      a table and

chairs     0 Sit on your chair!      AA! o

an old man asleep in a chair (= an armchair)

MBi# T&^A — see also armchair, deckchair, easy CHAIR, HIGH CHAIR, MUSICAL CHAIRS, ROCKING CHAIR, wheelchair 2 the chair [sing.] the position of being in charge of a meeting or committee; the person who holds this position (  ) AJftfi?{v;

MrfccIRft; (  ) ±Jfc; She

takes the chair in all our meetings. MAI# iZo 0 Who is in the chair today?         Af#? 0 He was

elected chair of the city council, M A A A iZ A A 0

3                  [C] the position of being in charge of a department in

a university ( A A £/J ) A A fi: He holds the chair of philosophy at Oxford.       M % A;fto

4                  the chair [sing.] (US, informal) = electric chair

verb [VN] to act as the chairman or chairwoman of a