missing link

[mis-ing lingk] / ˈmɪs ɪŋ ˈlɪŋk /

NOUN

lost connection

Synonyms

WEAK

broken thread omission prehuman protohuman

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The critical missing link at present is a viable transitional government.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026

And first-time buyers, long a missing link of the housing market, represented some 34% of February sales, one of the highest rates in five years, according to National Association of Realtors data.

From Barron's • Mar. 14, 2026

"I lost all my confidence after my diagnosis and treatment, so to bring the three of us together again to complete the missing link in our journey has been such a healing process," she said.

From BBC • Nov. 14, 2025

"Understanding human exposure to these chemicals may help explain a missing link in how some neurological diseases arise."

From Science Daily • Mar. 25, 2024

In 1941, three years before Avery’s landmark experiment, two scientists, George Beadle and Edward Tatum, working in a basement tunnel at Stanford University, discovered the missing link between genes and physical traits.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee