link

¹ American  

[lingk] / lɪŋk /

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.

   Synonyms:

   connective, connection

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

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

5. a cuff link.

6. a ring, loop, or the like.

   a link of hair.

7. Also called hyperlink.  Digital Technology.

   1. 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.

   2. 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.

8. Surveying, Civil Engineering.

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

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

9. Chemistry. bond.

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

    Synonyms:

    pin, tie, bind, fasten, conjoin, league, bond

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verb (used with or without object)

1. 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.

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.

link ² American  

[lingk] / lɪŋk /

noun

1. a torch, especially of tow and pitch.

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link ¹ British  

/ lɪŋk /

noun

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

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link ² British  

/ 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

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

4. a connecting part or episode

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

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

7. 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

8. computing short for hyperlink

9. an unreliable person or thing within an organization or system

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verb

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

2. (tr) to connect by association, etc

link Scientific  

/ 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.

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Related Words

See bond ¹.

Other Word Forms

• linkable adjective
• linker noun

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.

Example Sentences

“Your median economist very much is for free trade,” Phelan said last year External link.

From Barron's • Apr. 24, 2026

The sheer size of the federal budget—$1.5 trillion, if the president gets his way External link —isn’t the most immediate problem in Washington anymore.

From Barron's • Apr. 24, 2026

The shutdown has dragged on for months, and the department says it will soon run short of money External link needed to pay its roughly 50,000 Transportation Security Administration workers.

From Barron's • Apr. 24, 2026

Vernova reported External link better-than-expected earnings and raised full-year financial guidance on Wednesday, sending shares up 14% to $1,127.56.

From Barron's • Apr. 24, 2026

Fred clambered up the chain link door and, remembering what he’d seen Reginald do, locked his mouth on its latch.

From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein

Related Words

• associate
• attach
• bind
• combine
• hook up
• identify
• join
• relate
• tie
• unite