<h2>Definition</h2><span class="cald-hword">shackles</span> Show phonetics <span class="def-classification">plural noun</span> <span class="def-sensenum">1</span> <span class="cald-definition">a pair of metal rings connected by a chain and fastened to a person's wrists or the bottom of their legs to prevent them from escaping:</span> <span class="cald-example">The shackles had begun to cut into his ankles.</span> <span class="def-sensenum">2</span> <span class="cald-definition">something that prevents you from doing what you want to do:</span> <span class="cald-example">The press, once heavily censored, has managed to shake off its shackles.</span> <span class="cald-word">shackle</span> Show phonetics <span class="def-classification">verb</span> <span class="def-grammar">[T]</span> <span class="cald-definition">If you are shackled by something, you are unable to do what you want to do because of this thing:</span> <span class="cald-example">The government is shackled by its own debts.</span>
