train of thought

1. A succession of connected ideas, a path of reasoning, as in You've interrupted my train of thought; now what was I saying? This idiom, which uses train in the sense of “an orderly sequence,” was first recorded in 1651, in philosopher Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan.

Example Sentences

A searing pain erupts in the center of my left palm, disrupting my train of thought.

Read more on Literature

This train of thought may sound childish, but bear in mind that Penelope had muddled through without her parents for many a year.

Read more on Literature

The train of thought derails as soon as the server at Smoke House presents a large silver tray, its display slices of cakes layered and its pies adorned with ice cream.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Training LLMs to trade is “a little like trying to get a goldfish to continue its train of thought.”

Read more on Barron's

Training LLMs to trade is “a little like trying to get a goldfish to continue its train of thought.”

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• acumen 
• analysis 
• argument 
• hypothesis 
• inference 
• interpretation 
• premise 
• proposition 
• rationale 
• thinking