0 consisting of or to do with lines:
a linear diagram
1 relating to length, rather than area or volume:
linear measurement
2 involving a series of events or thoughts in which one follows another one directly:
These mental exercises are designed to break linear thinking habits and encourage creativity.
Is there a linear relationship between salaries and productivity?
3 used to refer to traditional television in which programmes are broadcast at particular times on particular channels to a general audience:
Linear TV is the traditional way television has been provided to households for decades.
The BBC says that viewers are watching 44% more linear channels compared with this time last year.
5 (esp. of stories or ideas) continuing in a clear and reasonable way from one part to the next:
The book offers excitement, linear plot development, and dramatic descriptions.
7 involving a series of events or thoughts in which one follows another directly:
Is there a linear relationship between salaries and productivity?
A linear displacement of the rib space will therefore not produce a linear displacement of muscle fibers.
Instead, we tend to see weak associations between environmental and transmission variables when measured by simple, linear correlations.
In a second type of linear effect, the rhythmic component of a signal could be obscured by high baseline activity.
A linear expansion around the fixed points tells us whether the mutant can invade an established wild-type population or vice versa.
Theoreticians define it also as the next (anharmonic or nonlinear) approximation after the first (harmonic or linear) one.
The linear regression equation accounted for 99.7 per cent of the variance.
The costs increase with dependency but in institutions the relationship is not linear.
Thus, we could cautiously conclude that a linear relationship exists.
