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

Example sentences from the Web for missing link

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.”