From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishbe chained to somethingbe chained to somethingKEEP somebody IN A PLACEto have your freedom restricted because of something you must do She felt chained to the kitchen sink. I don’t want a job where I’m chained to a desk all day. → chain
Examples from the Corpus
be chained to something• He was chained to a rock and his liver, though continually devoured by an eagle, never diminished.• How would you like to be chained to a stick and peddled up and down the street like a stuffed doll?• After his trial the Quaker was chained to a wheelbarrow and twice beaten by a Negro slave until he collapsed.• A few people thought that in the United States Negroes were chained to posts in the street.• Generator stolen: Thieves stole a £1,000 generator which was chained to scaffolding at Bondgate, Darlington on Monday afternoon.• A young man was chained to the back of the cart for pretending to be a priest.• They were chained to the wagon of taxes and services.