line of thought vs train of thought

Both 'line of thought' and 'train of thought' are correct phrases in English. They are interchangeable and used to refer to the sequence of connected ideas or reasoning in one's mind. The choice between the two is a matter of personal preference.

Last updated: March 23, 2024

line of thought

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to refer to the sequence of connected ideas or reasoning in one's mind.

It is used to describe the logical progression of thoughts or ideas in a person's mind.

Examples:

I lost my line of thought while giving the presentation.
Can you explain your line of thought behind this decision?
His line of thought was difficult to follow.
Let me explain my line of thought on this matter.
She quickly picked up on my line of thought.

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The call for increased cooperation in civil protection clearly reflects the Commission's line of thought.
Our committee suggested simplifying the procedures and I am pleased that Mr Böge's report follows a similar line of thought.
The recent declarations made by the Slovenian Ambassador to Rome show how, in that country, at least one line of thought is quite different from the spirit of the governments and member nations of the EU.
That's a very mature line of thought.
We are now looking for an alternative, not as a blueprint, but as a line of thought and action, in order to give shape to our ideals of social justice and security for everyone.
It's a line of thought I'd rather not pursue
Continuing my line of thought from last November, I would stress that in order to lower emissions in the atmosphere we must persuade the rest of the world of the necessity to regulate.
Continuing in that line of thought, may I kiss your mouth with my mouth?
If you are the partner that I invited you to be, the partner that I believe that you can be, then you will stop this line of thought immediately!
If just in Latin America those who fight this war had the same line of thought, it would be another totally different story.
I get twitches and shakes out of nowhere, I always lose my line of thought.
This will be the PPE-DE's main issue and line of thought.
This line of thought is fundamentally sound and should be implemented, but not in the one fell swoop that some of my fellow-MEPs envisage.
It is essential that the Commission be able to go along with this line of thought.
There is a line of thought that only the nationalist extreme left-wing can obtain a total liberation of the Basque Country.
It's a line of thought I'd rather not pursue
This is the line of thought that has to be pursued.
All too often, we find that the Council follows its own line of thought and this is no longer the way in which we can market modern foreign policy which covers a wide range of issues.
We need to adopt a truly new political line of thought that is based upon consumer protection and the social dimension, which will serve to draw up the laws and tasks to be undertaken by the European Union.
The Commission's second line of thought suggests a change in the way the 'tobacco' CMO supports producers, justified, according to the Commission, by the excessively poor quality of the tobacco produced by European farmers.

Alternatives:

train of thought
train of ideas
train of reasoning
train of logic
train of concepts

train of thought