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

This excitement has been a constant through line animating Pirouzmand’s practice. —Paula Mejía, ARTnews.com, 12 Sep. 2024

That through line continues in the eighth season of the show, which premiered on Netflix on September 6. —Samantha Allen, Them, 9 Sep. 2024

Radical representations of realness were the through line that connected each of the honorees of the evening. —Robyn Mowatt, Essence, 5 Sep. 2024

With calls for housing justice as well as a campaign to pass the Equal Rights Act — the social-justice roots of Pride were a through line amid the joyful celebration of diversity. —Tribune News Service, Hartford Courant, 4 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1936, in the meaning defined above