missing link

noun

1

: an absent member needed to complete a series or resolve a problem

evidence that was the missing link to solve the crime

2

a

: a hypothetical intermediate evolutionary form between humans and their presumed simian progenitors

b

: a hypothetical intermediate evolutionary form between one animal species or group and its presumed ancestors

a missing link between reptiles and birds

Examples of missing link in a Sentence

Police are hopeful that the new evidence will provide the missing links needed to solve the crime.

scientists searching for the missing link

Recent Examples on the Web

Law enforcement officials believe that kind of imagery could provide the missing link needed to narrow their search for the suspect, establish a direction of travel or identify associated locations. —Kerry Breen, CBS News, 18 Dec. 2025

Landing and charging sites remain the missing link. —Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 7 Dec. 2025

Noland is the missing link between late-20th- and 21st-century sculpture. —Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 4 Dec. 2025

There are also some ambitious goals like aerial tramways over Interstate 5 to connect Clairemont to coastal areas, and a missing link hiking trail that would connect Marian Bear Park and Tecolote Park. —David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1851, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for missing link

• bobolink
• countersink
• bethink
• downlink
• groupthink
• hoodwink
• rethink
• uplink
• blink
• brink
• chink
• cinque

Kids Definition

missing link

noun

: a form of animal believed to have existed that shares characteristics with one animal group and the ancestors from which the group is thought to have evolved but has not been discovered in the fossil record

find the missing link between humans and apes