link
1 Americannoun
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one of the rings or separate pieces of which a chain is composed.
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anything serving to connect one part or thing with another; a bond or tie.
The locket was a link with the past.
- Synonyms:
- connective, connection
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a unit in a communications system, as a radio relay station or a television booster station.
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any of a series of sausages in a chain.
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a cuff link.
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a ring, loop, or the like.
a link of hair.
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Also called hyperlink. Digital Technology.
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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.
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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.
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Surveying, Civil Engineering.
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(in a surveyor's chain) a unit of length equal to 7.92 inches (20.12 centimeters).
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one of 100 rods or loops of equal length forming a surveyor's or engineer's chain.
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Chemistry. bond.
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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)
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links,
present (3rd person singular)
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linked,
past participle, past
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linking
present participle
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to join by or as if by a link or links; connect (often followed byup ).
The new bridge will link the island to the mainland.
The company will soon link up with a hotel chain.
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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.
noun
noun
noun
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any of the separate rings, loops, or pieces that connect or make up a chain
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something that resembles such a ring, loop, or piece
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a road, rail, air, or sea connection, as between two main routes
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a connecting part or episode
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a connecting piece in a mechanism, often having pivoted ends
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Also called: radio link. a system of transmitters and receivers that connect two locations by means of radio and television signals
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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
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computing short for hyperlink
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an unreliable person or thing within an organization or system
verb
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(often foll by up) to connect or be connected with or as if with links
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(tr) to connect by association, etc
Synonym Usage
See bond 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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linksimple
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linkssimple
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have linkedperfect
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has linkedperfect
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am linkingprogressive
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are linkingprogressive
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is linkingprogressive
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have been linkingperfect progressive
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has been linkingperfect progressive
Past
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linkedsimple
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had linkedperfect
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was linkingprogressive
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were linkingprogressive
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had been linkingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of link1
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”
Origin of link2
First recorded in 1520–30; perhaps special use of link 1; the torches so called may have been made of strands twisted together in chainlike form
Explanation
Before it was the universal word for traveling around the Internet, link was just a connection or a device that connects things, like the links in a chain. Much of what humans do in their day-to-day life involves looking for links — or relationships between people and things. When there is a link, that means two things are connected — such as "the link between smoking and lung cancer." Some people even create links, like butchers who make sausage links and website developers who hyperlink the sites you visit to ensure that you spend far too much time clicking around the Web.
Vocabulary lists containing link
Computer Science and Technology - Introductory
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Computer Science and Technology - Middle School
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Chapter 1: The First Americans
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Other media reported a possible link between her death and a lab accident at the facility.
From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026
The bottom line: Most students will still be able to get federal loans to go to college and study whatever they want, even if their field doesn’t offer a clear link to a job.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
By revealing this previously unknown link between leucine, protein quality control, and mitochondrial metabolism, the researchers have identified potential new targets for diseases in which cellular energy production is disrupted, including cancer and metabolic disorders.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 3, 2026
American, which also plans to start installing Starlink on hundreds of planes next year, posted a link to its own status match offer, “for anyone suddenly considering their airline loyalty.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
I needed to clear a path for High John so he could link up with the others and rescue the Midfolk.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
Its new foundational chapter, “How Science Works,” links “widespread acceptance” to “the highest level of certainty science has to offer.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
The answer will weigh on Israel’s air links to the world and the prospects of the U.A.E.’s core aviation and tourism businesses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Police have not ruled out potential links between some of the Ekurhuleni deaths but have not said they are investigating a serial killer.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
Unedited excerpts from the surveys, in which candidates lay out detailed goals and policy analysis, can be found at the links below.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
As we park, a sixth grader wheels by on a bicycle, a clear plastic trash bag of links over his shoulder.
From "Linked" by Gordon Korman
Recent enthusiasm for Nvidia’s stock could also be linked to developments elsewhere in the chip industry.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
Authorities have not linked the current abduction to any group.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
The bacterium Yersinia pestis, which can cause pneumonic and bubonic plagues, has been identified from time to time in Siberia, linked to exposure to vermin.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
The scandal also led to a public feud in the Supreme Court, where some justices have been linked to Vorcaro.
From Barron's ● Oct. 3, 2026
Cassie has linked arms with someone from the other fifth-grade classroom.
From "Muffled" by Jennifer Gennari
Among them are white male entitlement versus the crushing demands of Black exceptionalism; the complicated bond linking fathers to sons; and the agonizing bravery required of mothers raising boys the world is conditioned to ostracize.
From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026
On Sunday, the group effectively encircled the key city of Taiz after cutting the main supply route linking the city to the interim government capital of Aden.
From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026
Despite Dickinson’s well-known struggle to believe, her poem implies a great chain of creation linking art to artist and artist to the Divine.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Forest Green Rovers have given manager Robbie Savage permission to speak to another club, amid speculation linking him to the vacant role at Peterborough United.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
“You’ve been here a full month now, bro,” he said, leaning back in his chair, linking his fingers behind his head.
From "We Were Here" by Matt De La Peña
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
