missing link

noun

1

: an absent member needed to complete a series or resolve a problem

2

a

: a hypothetical intermediate evolutionary form between humans and their presumed simian progenitors

b

: a hypothetical intermediate evolutionary form between one animal species or group and its presumed ancestors

a missing link between reptiles and birds

Examples of missing link in a Sentence

Police are hopeful that the new evidence will provide the missing links needed to solve the crime.

scientists searching for the missing link

Recent Examples on the Web

Piltdown Man, as the specimen was nicknamed, was a leading contender for the missing link until it was exposed in 1953 as a fraudulent pairing of a modern human skull with an orangutan's lower jaw. —Kate Wong, Scientific American, 1 Sep. 2020

So, from the optimal CFO profile perspective, that’s a void or a missing link for me. —Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 4 Mar. 2024

The bill provision concerning teacher preparation programs has been lauded as a critical missing link. —Jackie Valley, The Christian Science Monitor, 27 Feb. 2024

For Trina, her memory remains alive and well despite the missing link in their sisterhood. —Jack Irvin, Peoplemag, 22 Jan. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1851, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

missing link

noun

: a form of animal believed to have existed that shares characteristics with one animal group and the ancestors from which the group is thought to have evolved but has not been discovered in the fossil record

find the missing link between humans and apes