lose the thread

lose the thread (third-person singular simple present loses the thread, present participle losing the thread, simple past and past participle lost the thread)

1. (figuratively) To get distracted and lose track of something (one's train of thought, a conversation).

• lose one's thread
• pick up the threads
• lose the plot

• “lose the thread”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “lose the thread” (US) / “lose the thread” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.