Meaning & use
interlink
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Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
To join or be joined with other things so that they form a connected whole.
Grammar: Works with or without an object: interlink the pages, or the pages interlink.
Patterns
- interlink something with something
- something interlinks with something
Engineers interlink the three power grids to share electricity during shortages.
The two tunnels interlink beneath the old station.
Each chapter interlinks with the next through a shared set of characters.
verbintransitive
To be closely related, so that a change in one affects the other.
Grammar: No object; often used in the passive form interlinked: the issues are interlinked.
Patterns
- be interlinked with something
Poverty, health and education are closely interlinked.
The climate and the food supply interlink in ways that are hard to predict.
Local economies are interlinked, so one factory closing hurts many shops.
Word forms
| third person singular | interlinks |
|---|---|
| past tense | interlinked |
| past participle | interlinked |
| -ing form | interlinking |
Common combinations
- closely interlinked
- The two projects are closely interlinked.
- interlink the systems
- The company wants to interlink the systems used by each branch.
- interlinked networks
- Interlinked networks make the internet resilient.
- interlinked issues
- Housing and employment are interlinked issues.
- interlink with each other
- The gears interlink with each other to turn the wheel.
Synonyms and how they differ
- interconnect
- Interconnect is almost the same, but it more often describes machines and networks than ideas.
- link
- Link is simpler and can join just two things, while interlink suggests several parts all joined to each other.
- intertwine
- Intertwine implies strands twisted together, so it fits stories and lives better than systems.
- interlock
- Interlock describes parts that fit physically into one another, such as gears or fingers.
Opposites
Word family
- interlinked adjective
- joined together or mutually dependent
- interlinkage noun
- a connection between things
- link noun
- a connection between two things
Commonly confused: interlink or interlock?
interlink vs interlock
Interlock means to fit tightly together like pieces or gears, while interlink is looser and about connection or dependence.
Practice
Scientists say that forests, rainfall and farming are so closely ___ that damage to one affects the others.
Choose one answer.
Interlinked means mutually connected. The other options are real words but do not describe things depending on each other.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “interlink”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.