train of thought

Idioms  

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.

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Example Sentences

I swear I had another example, but I lost my train of thought.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026

Another seemingly innocuous cartoon shows a man at his desk sighing, "My train of thought has derailed."

From BBC • Jul. 7, 2025

While talking about his sophomore album, “Kansas Anymore,” Pillsbury suddenly lost his train of thought and, through his phone’s camera, a panicked smile takes over his typically sarcastic composure.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 28, 2025

The so-called weave is now being used to rationalize his inability to keep a single train of thought or give a straight answer in an interview:

From Salon • Oct. 16, 2024

I say, trying to hang on to the train of thought.

From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins

Related Words

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