2 N‑UNCOUNT Linen is tablecloths, sheets, pillowcases, and similar things made of cloth that are used in the home. □ …embroidered bed linen.
3 to wash your dirty linen in public → see dirty
li ne of si ght (lines of sight ) N‑COUNT [usu sing, oft with poss] Your line of sight is an imaginary line that stretches between your eye and the object that you are looking at. □ He was trying to keep out of the bird's line of sight.
li ne of vi |sion N‑SING [usu with poss] Your line of vision is the same as your line of sight . □ Any crack in a car windscreen always seems to be right in the driver's line of vision.
lin|er /la I nə r / (liners )
1 N‑COUNT [oft n N ] A liner is a large ship in which people travel long distances, especially on holiday. □ …luxury ocean liners.
2 → see also bin liner
li n|er note (liner notes ) N‑COUNT [usu pl] The liner notes on record jackets are short pieces of writing that tell you something about the record or the musicians playing on the record. [AM ] in BRIT, use sleeve notes
lines|man /la I nzmən/ (linesmen ) N‑COUNT A linesman is an official who assists the referee or umpire in games such as football and tennis by indicating when the ball goes over the lines around the edge of the field or court.
li ne-up (line-ups )
1 N‑COUNT A line-up is a group of people or a series of things that have been gathered together to be part of a particular event. □ [+ of ] The programme is back for a new series with a great line-up of musicians and comedy acts.
2 N‑COUNT At a line-up , a witness to a crime tries to identify the criminal from among a line of people. □ He failed to identify Graham from photographs, but later picked him out of a police line-up.
lin|ger /l I ŋgə r / (lingers , lingering , lingered )
1 VERB When something such as an idea, feeling, or illness lingers , it continues to exist for a long time, often much longer than expected. □ [V adv/prep] The scent of her perfume lingered on in the room. □ [V ] He was ashamed. That feeling lingered, and he was never comfortable in church after that. □ [V -ing] He would rather be killed in a race than die a lingering death in hospital.
2 VERB If you linger somewhere, you stay there for a longer time than is necessary, for example because you are enjoying yourself. □ [V adv/prep] Customers are welcome to linger over coffee until around midnight. □ [V ] It is a dreary little town where few would choose to linger.
lin|gerie /læ nʒəri, [AM ] -re I / N‑UNCOUNT Lingerie is women's underwear and nightclothes.
lin|go /l I ŋgoʊ/ (lingos )
1 N‑COUNT [usu sing] People sometimes refer to a foreign language, especially one that they do not speak or understand, as a lingo . [INFORMAL ] □ I don't speak the lingo.
2 N‑UNCOUNT [oft a N ] A lingo is a range of words or a style of language which is used in a particular situation or by a particular group of people. [INFORMAL ] □ In record-business lingo, that means he wanted to buy the rights to the song and market it. □ …an author who writes in a lurid lingo, freely punctuated with crude expletives.
lin|gua fran|ca /l I ŋgwə fræ ŋkə/ N‑SING A lingua franca is a language or way of communicating which is used between people who do not speak one another's native language. [FORMAL ] □ English is rapidly becoming the lingua franca of Asia.
lin|guist /l I ŋgw I st/ (linguists )
1 N‑COUNT A linguist is someone who is good at speaking or learning foreign languages. □ Her brother was an accomplished linguist.
2 N‑COUNT A linguist is someone who studies or teaches linguistics.
lin|guis|tic /l I ŋgw I st I ks/ (linguistics )
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Linguistic abilities or ideas relate to language or linguistics. □ …linguistic skills. □ …linguistic theory. ● lin|guis|ti|cal|ly /l I ŋgw I st I kli/ ADV [usu ADV adj/-ed] □ Somalia is an ethnically and linguistically homogeneous nation.
2 N‑UNCOUNT Linguistics is the study of the way in which language works. □ …applied linguistics.
lini|ment /l I n I mənt/ (liniments ) N‑VAR Liniment is a liquid that you rub into your skin in order to reduce pain or stiffness.
lin|ing /la I n I ŋ/ (linings )
1 N‑VAR The lining of something such as a piece of clothing or a curtain is a layer of cloth attached to the inside of it in order to make it thicker or warmer, or in order to make it hang better. □ …a padded satin jacket with quilted lining.
2 N‑VAR You can use lining to refer to a layer of paper, plastic, metal, or another substance that is attached to the inside of something, for example in order to protect it. □ …brake linings. □ [+ to ] Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.
3 N‑COUNT The lining of your stomach or other organ is a layer of tissue on the inside of it. □ [+ of ] …a bacterium that attacks the lining of the stomach. □ …the uterine lining.
4 → see also line
link ◆◆◇ /l I ŋk/ (links , linking , linked )
1 N‑COUNT If there is a link between two things or situations, there is a relationship between them, for example because one thing causes or affects the other. □ [+ between ] …the link between smoking and lung cancer. [Also + with ]
2 VERB If someone or something links two things or situations, there is a relationship between them, for example because one thing causes or affects the other. □ [V n + to ] The U.N. Security Council has linked any lifting of sanctions to compliance with the ceasefire terms. □ [V n + to ] Liver cancer is linked to the hepatitis B virus. □ [V -ed] The detention raised two distinct but closely linked questions. [Also + V n with ]