chain _noun

1-) a series of connected events, things, or people

ADJECTIVES

long
・This was just one of a long chain of events leading up to the war.

unbroken
・The farm had been handed down from father to son in an unbroken chain for six generations.

endless
・She sat smoking an endless chain of cigarettes.

NOUNS

food 
・Predators such as lions are at the top of the food chain.

supply 
・We can trace raw materials back through the supply chain to the producer.

CHAIN + NOUN
reaction
・The failure of one bank could set off a chain reaction.

PHRASES

a chain of events
・His resignation began the chain of events that led to her downfall.

a chain of command 
・This decision can only be made by someone higher up the chain of command.

link in the chain
・As the least experienced member of the team, he was seen as the weak link in the chain.

2-) a group of shops, hotels, etc. owned by the same company

ADJECTIVES & NOUNS

big, major, large 
・It is one of Europe’s biggest clothing chains.

national, nationwide 
・He was head of a national chain of grocery stores.

international, global 
・It has expanded into a global chain with 258 stores in 15 countries.

hotel, restaurant 
・Hilton is an international hotel chain.

supermarket
・Many people buy all their food at one of the major supermarket chains.

department store, video store, food store, etc.
・Morgan was the owner of a computer store chain.

grocery, fashion, fast-food, etc. 
・These are two of Florida’s largest grocery chains.

retail 
・Large retail chains usually want to expand and build more stores.

CHAIN + NOUN 
store
・She buys all her clothes from chain stores.

PREPOSITIONS

of 
・He owned a chain of jewellery stores.

PHRASES

be part of a chain
・The hotel is part of a chain.

3-) a number of people or things forming a line

ADJECTIVES & NOUNS

mountain
・The town lies at the end of the Jura mountain chain.

island
・A huge earthquake shook an island chain north of Japan on Wednesday.

human
・Riot police formed human chains to block demonstrators.

daisy
・She sat on the grass making daisy chains.

long
・I could see a long chain of tiny lights.

VERBS

form 
・They formed a human chain and passed buckets of water along to put out the fire.

PREPOSITIONS

of
・Most fabrics are made of long chains of molecules.