through line

noun

variants or throughline

ˈthrü-ˌlīn 

or less commonly through-line

: a common or consistent element or theme shared by items in a series or by parts of a whole

But Kent's latest nonetheless reveals a fascinating through line in her work, which centers on, as she puts it, "disrespect for the feminine"—and the inciting power of female rage.

—Rachel Handler

Vang was born in a refugee camp in Thailand, and came to the United States in the late 1980s. For him and his family, food was the throughline keeping them connected to their culture, wherever they were.

—Sharyn Jackson

Perverse moments like these are a throughline in Decker's work. The Texas native specializes in "bad" desires—awkward wants that tend to go unexpressed, or which otherwise seem too compromising to confess even to oneself.

—K. Austin Collins

Unlike Tokyo's great shopping thoroughfares, which have a certain logical through-line (if not aesthetic, at least socioeconomic), Osaka's arcades are mismatched, high-low jumbles of retail diversions.

—Simon Dumenco

Examples of through line in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Each guest space has a different design, but there are visual through lines and an overall tight aesthetic that manages to feel both throwback (think early 20th century Marrakech, Corfu, or Cairo) and totally current (open any issue of AD). —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Feb. 2026

Music served as a quiet through line for Jett, who develops playlists to set the emotional register of all of his projects. —Sean Santiago, Architectural Digest, 19 Feb. 2026

In addition to being the most gifted performer to come out of the city, Prince is the through line that connects the decline of jazz, the rise of new music, and its growth in the city’s Black communities. —Literary Hub, 17 Feb. 2026

There might be a fascinating play here, but the amorphous scenes that Hyland provides lack a dramatic through line. —Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 14 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1936, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for through line

• affine
• airline
• align
• aline
• assign
• baseline
• beamline
• benign
• bloodline
• bovine
• byline
• canine