to chain up
19
4.6
- phrasal verb
:
encadenar
- He was all chained up.
- chain up the dog
- man chained up
- keep him chained up
And when she goes into the basement, it is one of her childhood friends chained up in the basement.
- And when she goes into the basement, it is one of her childhood friends chained up in the basement.
- The Room of Chains is, as you could guess, a room in which people are chained up and essentially kept there.
- And then he had another chain that had a padlock on it that I think he uses to chain up his bike.
- And what they find in that cell is a child who is chained up there and will never be able to to escape.
- They like the cruelty of chaining people up, putting them on planes, telling judges to go fuck themselves.
- You tell them go fuck yourself, then ball gag me, chain me up and beg until I'm begging for mercy.
Examples
-
Okay, let's chain him up--
-
She had somebody chained up in here!
-
We can chain him up and extract a sample.
-
How can we keep him chained up like that?
-
Somebody chain this convict up.
-
I only have a minute, but I just wanted to make sure you weren't chained up in the basement or something.
-
You were left chained up in the basement of an abandoned farmhouse for nearly two months, the same farmhouse you burned down.
-
We've chained her up.
-
But I will admit he's a bit of a nuisance, always whining about being chained up.
-
If he continues to act out, we might need to chain up his arms to keep him calm.
Synonyms
132
3.2
To tie something tightly with rope or string
130
2.3
To fasten things together using metal links
81
7.2
To put metal bands around someone's wrists to stop their hands from moving
74
2.2
Fasten something with rope so it cannot move
35
6.2
To restrain someone with chains or limit their freedom
23
4.4
To tie an animal or object so it cannot move away
14
4.7
To fasten something securely with rope or cord
11
1.0
To tie or secure something with a strong cord
5
4.0
To fasten something with rope or straps to keep it from moving
4
7.0
To tie the legs and wings of a bird so it cooks evenly
1
9.0
To tie the legs and arms of a person or animal so they cannot move
1
9.5
To tie someone with chains or hold them under close control
1
9.9
To put metal chains on someone's ankles to stop them moving
Antonyms
How Restrained
Surface Forms
Morphology
chain + up
The meaning 'to fasten or restrain with chains' is directly derivable from 'chain' (to tether or fasten with a chain) combined with the particle 'up' which adds a sense of securing or completing the action. This is a regular verb+particle composition in English (similar to 'tie up', 'lock up') and would be predictable to a B1 learner who knows the constituent words.
Etymology
Chain up comes from the clear image of fixing something with a heavy chain and pulling it up tight so it cannot move. That's why it means 'to fasten or restrain' someone or something with chains.