Entry 1 sense Webster, 1913 chains /(chāns)/ · IPA /t͡ʃeɪnz/ 01 n. metal shackles connected by chains, used to bind hands or legs; as, he was kept two weeks in chains. 1. metal shackles connected by chains, used to bind hands or legs; as, he was kept two weeks in chains. Syn. iron, irons, chain.