shackle

noun

/ˈʃækl/

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[countable, usually plural] a metal ring placed around a prisoner’s wrist or ankle and joined by a chain to something, or to a shackle on the other wrist or ankle, to prevent the prisoner from escaping or moving easily
shackles
[plural] shackles (of something) (formal) a particular state, set of conditions or circumstances, etc. that prevent you from saying or doing what you want
- a country struggling to free itself from the shackles of colonialism

Word OriginOld English sc(e)acul ‘fetter’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch schakel ‘link, coupling’.

verb

/ˈʃækl/

[often passive]

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they shackle	/ˈʃækl/ /ˈʃækl/
he / she / it shackles	/ˈʃæklz/ /ˈʃæklz/
past simple shackled	/ˈʃækld/ /ˈʃækld/
past participle shackled	/ˈʃækld/ /ˈʃækld/
-ing form shackling	/ˈʃæklɪŋ/ /ˈʃæklɪŋ/

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to put shackles on somebody
- be shackled (to something) The hostage had been shackled to a radiator.
- The prisoners were kept shackled during the trial.
shackle somebody/something to prevent somebody from behaving or speaking as they want
- She is opposed to shackling the press with privacy laws.

Word OriginOld English sc(e)acul ‘fetter’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch schakel ‘link, coupling’.