linear

UK: /ˈlɪniə^r/ US: /ˈlɪniɚ/ ,(lin′ē ər)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

lin•e•ar /ˈlɪniɚ/   adj. 

1. of, made up of, resembling, or using lines:
   linear design.
2. extended or arranged in a line:
   a linear series.
3. Weights and Measures involving length only:
   linear measurements.

lin•e•ar•ly, adv. See -lin-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

lin•e•ar  (lin′ē ər), adj. 

1. of, consisting of, or using lines:
   linear design.
2. pertaining to or represented by lines:
   linear dimensions.
3. extended or arranged in a line:
   a linear series.
4. Weights and Measures involving measurement in one dimension only;
   pertaining to length:
   linear measure.
5. Fine Art of or pertaining to the characteristics of a work of art in which forms and rhythms are defined chiefly in terms of line.
6. having the form of or resembling a line:
   linear nebulae.
7. [Math.]
   • Mathematics consisting of, involving, or describable by terms of the first degree.
   • Mathematics having the same effect on a sum as on each of the summands:
     a linear operation.
8. Electronics delivering an output that is directly proportional to the input:
   a linear circuit; a linear amplifier.
9. Botany threadlike;
   narrow and elongated:
   a linear leaf.

• Latin līneāris of, belonging to lines. See line¹, -ar¹
• 1635–45

lin′e•ar•ly, adv. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

linear / ˈlɪnɪə/ adjective

1. of, in, along, or relating to a line
2. of or relating to length
3. resembling, represented by, or consisting of a line or lines
4. having one dimension
5. designating a style in the arts, esp painting, that obtains its effects through line rather than colour or light and in which the edges of forms and planes are sharply defined
6. of or relating to the first degree: a linear equation
7. narrow and having parallel edges: a linear leaf
8. (of a circuit, etc) having an output that is directly proportional to input: linear amplifier
9. having components arranged in a line

Etymology: 17th Century: from Latin līneāris of or by means of lines

linearity / ˌlɪnɪˈærɪtɪ/ noun

ˈlinearly adverb