chain

A series of interconnected rings or links usually made of metal.

A series of interconnected things.

A series of stores or businesses with the same brand name.

(chemistry) A number of atoms in a series, which combine to form a molecule.

(surveying) A series of interconnected links of known length, used as a measuring device.

(surveying) A long measuring tape.

A unit of length equal to 22 yards. The length of a Gunter's surveying chain. The length of a cricket pitch. Equal to 20.12 metres, 4 rods, or 100 links.

(mathematics, set theory, order theory) A totally ordered set, especially a totally ordered subset of a poset.

(Britain) A sequence of linked house purchases, each of which is dependent on the preceding and succeeding purchase (said to be "broken" if a buyer or seller pulls out).

That which confines, fetters, or secures; a bond.

(nautical, in the plural) Iron links bolted to the side of a vessel to bold the dead-eyes connected with the shrouds; also, the channels.

A livery collar, a chain of office.

(weaving) The warp threads of a web.