1 [C,U] a long thin piece of cotton, wool, etc that you use for sewing or making cloth （用棉、羊毛等制成的）线: a needle and thread 针线 ☞picture at cable 见cable插图

2 [C] the connection between ideas, the parts of a story, etc 线索；脉络；条理；思路: I've lost the thread of this argument. 我忘记了这个论点的脉络。