of or in or along or relating to a line; involving or having a single dimension
"a linear measurement"
Having the form of a line; straight or roughly straight; following a direct course.
"The surveyor marked a linear path through the dense forest to ensure they stayed on the most direct route back to camp."
In plain English: Linear means something that goes in a straight line without any curves or bends.
"The road followed a straight, linear path through the valley."
Usage: Use "linear" to describe something that grows at a constant rate, forming a straight line when graphed, rather than increasing exponentially. It also refers to physical objects or paths that are straight and uncurved.
A comet, cataloged as “C/1999 S4”, discovered on September 27, 1999, by the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research program in New Mexico. (See [https://web.archive.org/web/20051220100856/http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/comets/linear.html]) Sometimes spelled LINEAR.
"The NASA scientist explained that her team's latest discoveries came directly from the Linear mission."
Initialism of Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research program.
The word linear comes from the Latin līneāris, which is derived from līnea meaning "line." It originally functioned as an adjective describing something related to a line.