A linked list is a linear data structure in which elements are stored in nodes, and each node contains two parts: the data and a reference (or pointer) to the next node in the sequence. Unlike arrays, linked lists do not store their elements in contiguous memory locations. This allows for efficient insertion and deletion of elements, particularly at the beginning or middle of the list, as there is no need to shift elements like in an array. Linked lists come in different types, such as singly linked lists (where each node points to the next node) and doubly linked lists (where each node points to both the next and previous nodes). In TypeScript, you can implement a linked list by defining a class for the nodes and another class for the linked list itself. For example, the `Node` class may store the value and a `next` pointer, while the `LinkedList` class handles methods like `add`, `remove`, and `traverse`. Linked lists are widely used in scenarios where you need flexible, dynamic memory allocation, such as in implementing queues, stacks, or graph adjacency lists. However, linked lists also come with downsides, such as the inability to access elements by index efficiently (you must traverse the list to find a specific element). Understanding linked lists is fundamental to learning data structures, as they form the basis of more complex structures like stacks and queues.