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shackle

shackle


shack·le    Audio Help   (shāk'əl)   

n.  

  1. A metal fastening, usually one of a pair, for encircling and confining the ankle or wrist of a prisoner or captive; a fetter or manacle.

  2. A hobble for an animal.

  3. Any of several devices, such as a clevis, used to fasten or couple.

  4. A restraint or check to action or progress. Often used in the plural: economic shackles that precluded further investment.

tr.v.   shack·led, shack·ling, shack·les

  1. To confine with shackles; fetter.

  2. To fasten or connect with a shackle.

  3. To restrict, confine, or hamper. See Synonyms at hamper1.


[Middle English schackel, from Old English sceacel, fetter.]
shack'ler n.
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
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