Definition of "linear"

Having the form of a line; straight or roughly straight; following a direct course.  quotations  examples

Of or relating to lines.  examples

Made, or designed to be used, in a step-by-step, sequential manner.  examples

(botany, of leaves) Long and narrow, with nearly parallel sides.  examples

(mathematics) (of polynomials or polynomial equations)

1. (of a polynomial) Having degree less than one; that is, being of the form a 1 x 1 + a 2 x 2 + ⋯ + a n x n , where each x i is a variable and each a i is a coefficient. See also Linear polynomials on Wikipedia.Wikipedia  examples

2. (of a polynomial equation) Involving only linear polynomials. See also Linear equation on Wikipedia.Wikipedia  examples

(mathematics) (of functions or maps)

1. (of a function between vector spaces) An additive, homogeneous mapping; that is, a function f : V → W is linear if it distributes over vector addition ( f ( v + w ) = f ( v ) + f ( w ) ) and respects scalar multiplication ( f ( c v ) = c f ( v ) ). If V and W are vector spaces over a field K , f may also be called a K {\displaystyle K} -linear map. See also linear map on Wikipedia.Wikipedia  examples

2. (of a function over a module) A module homomorphism; that is, a group homomorphism that commutes with scalar multiplication. See also Module homomorphism on Wikipedia.Wikipedia  examples

(physics) A type of length measurement involving only one spatial dimension (as opposed to area or volume).  examples

(radio slang) Ellipsis of linear amplifier..