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:
Warsh and Trump have spoken frequently about the economy by phone, an unusually close link between the Fed and the White House.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
There is no proof at this stage to link the flying bomb directly to Russia, which denies any role.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
The employee clicked a malicious link in an email and entered Microsoft 365 credentials into a fraudulent login page, IEH said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
In July, OpenAI rolled out widespread access to a health feature that can link with users’ medical records and wearables data, and among other things tell users about trends in their health results over time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
We know the average link takes up about four inches, so if the count is off, we'll catch it.
From "Linked" by Gordon Korman
She’ll complain about me needing to find a secretary before rattling off the results, links to Slate articles and a recent award.
From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026
A selfless, tactically disciplined forward who links phases and presses intelligently.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
Adams’ books have also been advertised for sale on FLAG’s Facebook page, with links going directly to Adams’ personal website for the books rather than FLAG’s shopify page.
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026
Otherwise, little of note links the great-fielding, average-hitting Bader to the formerly average-fielding, exceptional-hitting Kent.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
Michael says we’re up over sixty thousand links, and lengths of chain hang everywhere, doubled, tripled, and quadrupled up.
From "Linked" by Gordon Korman
A book borrowed 150 years ago has finally been returned to an Australian library, with the culprit linked to the Houses of Parliament in London.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
As a result, ETFs tracking Russell’s large-stock growth benchmark, such as iShares Russell 1000 Growth, trailed far behind funds linked to other large-growth indexes with bigger positions in hot chip stocks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Traceback and outbreak data have linked the shredded iceberg lettuce supplied to the Taco Bell locations to the Salinas-based company Taylor Farms and its Taylor Farms de Mexico facility in Central Mexico.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Even if insurance did not cover business losses linked to a change in taste, he would not sell his wine if its aroma was burnt.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
Chess’s face was red and sweaty as he struggled to keep a grip on the chain that linked the Gustanos’ handcuffs.
From "The Strangers" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
A seamless grid of autobahns and high speed rail linking a transnational union no longer scarred by checkpoints and exit visas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
The government suspended local school activities and closed a road linking the south of the country to Antigua.
From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026
Dirie said linking a WhatsApp profile to a phone number made it easier to track criminals.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Neff’s genius includes extending the living room’s pitched ceiling outward over a covered loggia, linking the inside-outside rooms in stellar Southern California fashion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Incidentally, another piece of tubing in the body, the Eustachian tube linking the middle ear to the pharynx, was also described around this time, by Bartolomeo Eustachio.
From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin
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.
