1. 1. The act or process of linking.
   2. The condition of being linked.
2. A connection or relation; an association.
3. A negotiating policy of making agreement on one issue dependent on progress toward another objective.
4. A system of interconnected machine elements, such as rods, springs, and pivots, used to transmit power or motion.
5. Electricity. A measure of the induced voltage in a circuit caused by a magnetic flux and equal to the flux times the number of turns in the coil that surrounds it.
6. Genetics. An association between two or more genes such that the traits they control tend to be inherited together.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.