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

Image With the hindsight of later years, Ms. Baer became more inclined to find a through line in her own career. —Will Heinrich, New York Times, 26 Jan. 2025

This is the through line of our history—a testament to our nation’s resilience and capacity for renewal. —John Hope Bryant, TIME, 23 Jan. 2025

Without the anchor of material reality, the life of the artist is reduced to a just-so story of soaring above banalities and complications—one that parses easily into its few dramatic through lines as if the stars were aligned from the start. —Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 19 Dec. 2024

While the style of each project is tailored to the client's taste, a feeling of comfort and a sense of timelessness serve as a through line in the firm’s work. —Dan Howarth, Architectural Digest, 30 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1936, in the meaning defined above