Word.ws English Dictionary

balls and chains

balls and chains is the plural of ball and chain.

Meaning of ball and chain

Noun

ball and chain (plural balls and chains)

  1. A heavy iron ball attached to a prisoner's leg by a chain as a means of restraint.
    • In those days a prisoner here had to carry his ball and chain when he was walking to the chow hall.
  2. (derogatory, slang) One's spouse, especially a wife, as a symbol of restraint.
    • Near-synonyms: other half (neutral valence), better half (positive valence)
  3. (figuratively) Anything that restricts one's freedom or opportunities.
    • His boss turned his conscientiousness into a ball and chain by giving him all the hard jobs.

Questions about balls and chains

What is balls and chains the plural of?
Balls and chains is the plural of ball and chain.

Words near balls and chains in the dictionary

  1. ballrooming
  2. ballrooms
  3. ballroomy
  4. balls
  5. balls about
  6. balls and chains
  7. balls around
  8. balls deep
  9. balls down
  10. balls in hand
  11. balls it off

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: balls and chains (page history and authors); ball and chain (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “balls and chains.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/balls_and_chains. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.