link

1
[ lingk ]
See synonyms for: linklinkedlinkinglinks on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. one of the rings or separate pieces of which a chain is composed.

  2. anything serving to connect one part or thing with another; a bond or tie: The locket was a link with the past.

  1. a unit in a communications system, as a radio relay station or a television booster station.

  2. any of a series of sausages in a chain.

  3. a cuff link.

  4. a ring, loop, or the like: a link of hair.

  5. Also called hyperlink .Digital Technology.

    • an object, as text or graphics, linked through hypertext to a document, another object, etc.: Click on the link below to read the full article.

    • the connection between elements linked by hypertext, or the code or tag content required to make such a connection: The website was full of broken links, typos, and images that failed to load.

  6. Surveying, Civil Engineering.

    • (in a surveyor's chain) a unit of length equal to 7.92 inches (20.12 centimeters).

    • one of 100 rods or loops of equal length forming a surveyor's or engineer's chain.

  7. Chemistry. bond1 (def. 15).

  8. Machinery. a rigid, movable piece or rod, connected with other parts by means of pivots or the like, for the purpose of transmitting motion.

verb (used with or without object)
  1. to join by or as if by a link or links; connect; unite (often followed by up): The new bridge will link the island to the mainland. The company will soon link up with a hotel chain.

  2. Digital Technology. to create digital connections between web pages or between elements on web pages using hypertext, or to have such links on or to a web page or electronic document: The page is linked to my online store.The essay links to three of my published articles.

Origin of link

1
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English link(e), of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Swedish lænker “chain”; cognate with Old Norse hlekkr “link” (plural, “chain”), from hlenkr (unattested); related to Old English hlence “coat of chain mail,” akin to German Gelenk “joint, link”

synonym study For link

2. See bond1.

word story For link

7, 12. See internet.

Other words for link

Other words from link

  • link·er, noun

Words Nearby link

Other definitions for link (2 of 2)

link2
[ lingk ]

noun
  1. a torch, especially of tow and pitch.

Origin of link

2
First recorded in 1520–30; perhaps special use of link1; the torches so called may have been made of strands twisted together in chainlike form

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use link in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for link (1 of 2)

link1

/ (lɪŋk) /


noun
  1. any of the separate rings, loops, or pieces that connect or make up a chain

  2. something that resembles such a ring, loop, or piece

  1. a road, rail, air, or sea connection, as between two main routes

  2. a connecting part or episode

  3. a connecting piece in a mechanism, often having pivoted ends

  4. Also called: radio link a system of transmitters and receivers that connect two locations by means of radio and television signals

  5. a unit of length equal to one hundredth of a chain. 1 link of a Gunter's chain is equal to 7.92 inches, and of an engineer's chain to 1 foot

  6. computing short for hyperlink

  7. weak link an unreliable person or thing within an organization or system

verb
  1. (often foll by up) to connect or be connected with or as if with links

  2. (tr) to connect by association, etc

Origin of link

1
C14: from Scandinavian; compare Old Norse hlekkr link

Derived forms of link

  • linkable, adjective

British Dictionary definitions for link (2 of 2)

link2

/ (lɪŋk) /


noun
  1. (formerly) a torch used to light dark streets

Origin of link

2
C16: perhaps from Latin lychnus, from Greek lukhnos lamp

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for link

link

[ lĭngk ]


  1. A segment of text or a graphical item that serves as a cross-reference between parts of a webpage or other hypertext documents or between webpages or other hypertext documents.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.