# What are 'hidden layers' in a neural network, and what happens inside them?

_Last updated: 2026-07-20_  
_Reviewed by: Jason Burns, Editorial Steward_  
_Published by: AIDirectAnswers.com · Licensed under Citation License 1.0_

## Short answer

Hidden layers are the intermediate layers of a neural network between the input and output; each hidden layer applies a linear transformation followed by a non-linear activation, learning progressively more abstract features of the input.

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_Published: 2026-07-20 · Modified: 2026-07-20_  
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