: a linear form of writing employing syllabic characters and used at Knossos on Crete and on the Greek mainland from the 15th to the 12th centuries b.c. for documents in Mycenaean Greek
Examples of Linear B in a Sentence
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One piece is constructed of clay Linear B tablets recast as mobile phone chat bubbles, a meditation on the changing face of language and communication.
—
Jemima Sissons,
Condé Nast Traveler,
22 Jan. 2026
Egypt’s hieroglyphs and the Mycenaean script known as Linear B were also notoriously indecipherable—until the Rosetta Stone and a British genius produced working keys.
—
Ariel Sabar,
The Atlantic,
8 Aug. 2024
More tantalizing than even the story of Alice Kober’s work on Linear B, for Meiklejohn, was the fact that no one had been able to decipher Linear A, even after a century of study.
—
Andy Greenberg,
Ars Technica,
18 Jan. 2024
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Jemima Sissons,
Condé Nast Traveler,
22 Jan. 2026
Egypt’s hieroglyphs and the Mycenaean script known as Linear B were also notoriously indecipherable—until the Rosetta Stone and a British genius produced working keys.
—
Ariel Sabar,
The Atlantic,
8 Aug. 2024
More tantalizing than even the story of Alice Kober’s work on Linear B, for Meiklejohn, was the fact that no one had been able to decipher Linear A, even after a century of study.
—
Andy Greenberg,
Ars Technica,
18 Jan. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Linear B.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Linear%20B. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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