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

The Trump Administration has denied the Venezuelans a chance to respond to the government’s allegations of gang membership, but the most obvious through line, in each case, appears to be their tattoos. —Jonathan Blitzer, New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2025

Any obituary has to be able to, in relatively few words, not only tell the life of somebody, but tell a through line about that person and tell why that person is relevant is impactful. —Sara Georgini, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Apr. 2025

True to the firm’s signature approach, many of the items have a distinctly vintage vibe, with color acting as a conceptual through line. —Mayer Rus, Architectural Digest, 28 Mar. 2025

Instead, thematic galleries with little through line (Interiors, Agitation, Revenants, etc.) became fractured worlds, each feeling progressively tacked-on and disconnected. —Joseph L. Underwood, ARTnews.com, 27 Mar. 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