linkage
Americannoun
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linkages
plural
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a system of links.
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Genetics. an association between two or more genes on a chromosome that tends to cause the characteristics determined by these genes to be inherited as an inseparable unit.
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Machinery. an assembly of four or more rods for transmitting motion, usually in the same plane or in parallel planes.
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a factor or relationship that connects or ties one thing to another; link.
Administration officials sought to establish linkage between grain sales and relaxed immigration laws.
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any of various mathematical or drawing devices consisting of a combination of bars or pieces pivoted together so as to turn about one another, usually in parallel planes.
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Electricity. flux linkage.
noun
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the act of linking or the state of being linked
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a system of interconnected levers or rods for transmitting or regulating the motion of a mechanism
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electronics the product of the total number of lines of magnetic flux and the number of turns in a coil or circuit through which they pass
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genetics the occurrence of two genes close together on the same chromosome so that they are unlikely to be separated during crossing over and tend to be inherited as a single unit
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the fact of linking separate but related issues in the course of political negotiations
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of linkage
Explanation
Linkage means "connection"––the act of linking or the fact of being linked––specifically the kind of connection where one thing follows the other, as if in a chain. A relatively new word (from the mid-19th century), linkage has a scientific or at least a technical ring to it, and it's often used in scientific or diplomatic contexts. In peace negotiations, there is usually a linkage between agreement to cease fire and the meeting of other demands. The connection by which genes travel together from one generation to the next is called linkage.
Vocabulary lists containing linkage
5.3: The First Industrial Revolution (Sources 1–7)
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"Modern Automotive Technology," Vocabulary from Section 10
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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:
Khan said: "We have now found concrete evidence that links what is happening on the ground through linkage evidence to specific persons in leadership mode."
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
This linkage between the private-credit and private-equity markets is crucial for projecting the two investments’ respective returns in coming years.
From MarketWatch ● May 22, 2026
The linkage forms a sulfur-carbon bond called a thioether.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 28, 2026
It said that there was "no consistent pattern of Western ownership linkage, suggesting that the current strike pattern reflects a campaign aimed at broad maritime disruption rather than selective vessel targeting".
From Barron's ● Mar. 15, 2026
Genes that had no linkage whatsoever had to be present on entirely different chromosomes.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Citrini goes into great detail about these linkages, which are worth reading here.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 23, 2026
"There are no rail networks here and there's really poor public transport so the linkages to other centres and other hospitals is really poor," she told BBC News NI.
From BBC ● Jan. 14, 2026
“Silver has deviated from its linkages to gold and other precious metals,” said Yung-Shin Kung, chief investment officer of Mast Investments.
From Barron's ● Jan. 9, 2026
Investigations into some of these linkages were among the more than 50 autism-related studies whose funding Kennedy has cut since taking office, a ProPublica investigation found.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 11, 2025
There is a tendency for living things to join up, establish linkages, live inside each other, return to earlier arrangements, get along, whenever possible.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
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.
