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

That was part of a family through line during this show that extended in both directions, past and future. —Jon Caramanica, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2025

Tell me about what inspired that through line of this album. —Jack Irvin, People.com, 28 Apr. 2025

This translates into a really interesting way of writing; there’s typically a main through line around which Beard loops and layers her prose. —The New Yorker, New Yorker, 16 Apr. 2025

All traceable back to the through line of the 58-year-old Vermes, the face of soccer in Kansas City. —Vahe Gregorian, Kansas City Star, 2 Apr. 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