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

Unexpected details and playful elements are through lines in the work of Moniomi Design. —Dan Howarth, Architectural Digest, 7 July 2025

Education was a through line of the 2025 legislative season. —Melissa Brown, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025

Professionals who can articulate the through line of their journey stand out and stay future-proof. —Minh Pham-Costello, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025

Groups from each province strut through lines of waiting onlookers brandishing cell phones to capture the spectacle. —Matt Dutile, Travel + Leisure, 21 June 2025

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