missing link
noun
a hypothetical form of animal assumed to have constituted a connecting link between the anthropoid apes and humans, identified by some authorities as constituting the genus Australopithecus.
something lacking for the completion of a series or sequence.
Origin of missing link
First recorded in 1850–55
Words nearby missing link
missileer,
missileman,
missilery,
missing,
missing fundamental,
missing link,
missing mass,
missiology,
mission,
mission control,
mission creep
Example sentences from the Web for missing link
There does seem a missing-link somewhere, observed the girl.
Nothing But the Truth |Frederic S. Isham
British Dictionary definitions for missing link
missing link
noun
the missing link (sometimes capitals)
a hypothetical extinct animal or animal group, formerly thought to be intermediate between the anthropoid apes and man
any missing section or part in an otherwise complete series
Cultural definitions for missing link
missing link
A supposed animal midway in evolution between apes and humans. The term is based on a misunderstanding about the theory of evolution, which does not state that humans are descended from apes, but rather maintains that both humans and apes descended from a common ancestor. Modern evolutionary scientists do not search for a “missing link.”