link Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the means of connection between things linked in series
    nexus.
  2. noun a fastener that serves to join or connect
    tie-in; linkup; tie.
    • the walls are held together with metal links placed in the wet mortar during construction
  3. noun the state of being connected
    connection; connectedness.
    • the connection between church and state is inescapable
  4. noun a connecting shape
    connection; connexion.
  5. noun a unit of length equal to 1/100 of a chain
  6. noun (computing) an instruction that connects one part of a program or an element on a list to another program or list
  7. noun a channel for communication between groups
    inter-group communication; liaison; contact.
    • he provided a liaison with the guerrillas
  8. noun a two-way radio communication system (usually microwave); part of a more extensive telecommunication network
    radio link.
  9. noun an interconnecting circuit between two or more locations for the purpose of transmitting and receiving data
    data link.
  10. verb make a logical or causal connection
    tie in; associate; relate; colligate; connect; link up.
    • I cannot connect these two pieces of evidence in my mind
    • colligate these facts
    • I cannot relate these events at all
  11. verb connect, fasten, or put together two or more pieces
    tie; connect; link up.
    • Can you connect the two loudspeakers?
    • Tie the ropes together
    • Link arms
  12. verb be or become joined or united or linked
    join; connect; unite; link up.
    • The two streets connect to become a highway
    • Our paths joined
    • The travelers linked up again at the airport
  13. verb link with or as with a yoke
    yoke.
    • yoke the oxen together

WordNet

Link noun
Etymology
Prob. corrupted from lint and this for lunt a torch, match, D. lont match; akin to G. lunte, cf. MHG. lünden to burn. Cf. Lunt, Linstock.
Definitions
  1. A torch made of tow and pitch, or the like. Shak.
Link noun
Etymology
OE. linke, AS. hlence; akin to Sw. länk ring of a chain, Dan. lænke chain, Icel. hlekkr; cf. G. gelenk joint, link, ring of a chain, lenken to bend.
Definitions
  1. A single ring or division of a chain.
  2. Hence: Anything, whether material or not, which binds together, or connects, separate things; a part of a connected series; a tie; a bond. "Links of iron." Shak.
    The link of brotherhood, by which One common Maker bound me to the kind. Cowper.
    And so by double links enchained themselves in lover's life. Gascoigne.
  3. Anything doubled and closed like a link; as, a link of horsehair. Mortimer.
  4. (Kinematics) Any one of the several elementary pieces of a mechanism, as the fixed frame, or a rod, wheel, mass of confined liquid, etc., by which relative motion of other parts is produced and constrained.
  5. (Mach.) Any intermediate rod or piece for transmitting force or motion, especially a short connecting rod with a bearing at each end; specifically (Steam Engine), the slotted bar, or connecting piece, to the opposite ends of which the eccentric rods are jointed, and by means of which the movement of the valve is varied, in a link motion.
  6. (Surveying) The length of one joint of Gunter's chain, being the hundredth part of it, or 7.92 inches, the chain being 66 feet in length. Cf. Chain, n., 4.
  7. (Chem.) A bond of affinity, or a unit of valence between atoms; -- applied to a unit of chemical force or attraction.
  8. pl. Sausages; -- because linked together. Colloq. 9. pl. A golf course.
Link transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Linked ; present participle & verbal noun Linking
Definitions
  1. To connect or unite with a link or as with a link; to join; to attach; to unite; to couple.
    All the tribes and nations that composed it [the Roman Empire] were linked together, not only by the same laws and the same government, but by all the facilities of commodious intercourse, and of frequent communication. Eustace.
Link intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To be connected.
    No one generation could link with the other. Burke.

Webster 1913