I.
noun
1 piece of cotton, etc.
ADJECTIVE
▪ strong
▪ delicate ( usually figurative ), fine , fragile ( usually figurative ), thin
▪
Our lives hang by a fragile ~.
▪ loose
▪ matching
▪ cotton , gold , silk , etc.
▪ embroidery , sewing
▪ warp , weft
… OF THREAD
▪ length , piece
VERB + THREAD
▪ spin
▪ pull
▪
You've pulled a ~ in your sweater.
▪ cut
PHRASES
▪ hanging by a ~ ( often figurative )
▪
The player's career is hanging by a ~ after this latest injury to his knee.
▪ needle and ~
2 connection between ideas, parts of a story, etc.
ADJECTIVE
▪ central , main
▪ common , connecting
▪ consistent , continuous
▪ narrative , plot
▪ loose
▪
Apart from one or two loose ~s, the police now had the complete picture of what happened.
VERB + THREAD
▪ have
▪
These stories have no real common ~.
▪ follow , trace
▪
I found it hard to follow the main ~ of his argument.
▪ find
▪
Police have not been able to find a common ~ linking the victims.
▪ lose
▪
The speaker lost his ~ halfway through the talk.
▪ keep
▪
She struggled against all the interruptions to keep the ~ of her argument.
▪ draw together , pick up , pull together , weave
▪
The author eventually picks up the various ~s of the plot and weaves them into a masterly conclusion.
THREAD + VERB
▪ run through sth
▪
A continuous ~ runs through all the versions of the legend.
▪ connect , link
▪ emerge
▪
On studying the different historians' accounts, common ~s emerge.
▪ unravel
▪
As the movie progresses, the ~s of the plot slowly begin to unravel.
3 series of connected messages
ADJECTIVE
▪ comment , discussion
VERB + THREAD
▪ open , start
II.
verb
Thread is used with these nouns as the object: ↑ bead , ↑ finger , ↑ needle , ↑ way , ↑ yarn