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

The biggest missing link from your letter is whether your husband’s pension offers 50%, 75%, or 100% survivorship.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 9, 2025

Three friends have finished the missing link in a 17,000-mile mountain bike challenge they did in the 1980s.

From BBC • Nov. 14, 2025

This was the missing link in Darwin's logic: reproductive incompatibility, ultimately derived from genetic incompatibility, drove the origin of novel species.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee