timeline

noun

time·​line ˈtīm-ˌlīn 

variants or time line

plural timelines or time lines

1

a

: an arrangement or occurrence (as of past events) in time : chronology

After interviewing the suspect, the wardens pieced together a timeline of events and gathered enough evidence to file appropriate charges …

—Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

b

: a visual representation of events associated with a particular period of time arranged chronologically along a line or in a linear format

The book also includes a timeline, showing which dinosaurs lived when and where, and how the Earth has changed over millions of years.

—The Children's Bookwatch

In her "Foundations of Western Civilization" course … Prof. Julia Gossard has her students create a timeline of the history of food …

—Thomas Keith

c

: a schedule of planned events, actions, etc. : timetable sense 2

With just under a year left until your nuptials, here's what's next on your wedding planning timeline.

—Sarah Hanlon

Giving the client a say in every step of the project could create a delay and throw off the timeline …

—Katie Bates

2

: a period of time especially with respect to some project or event : time frame

And what's the timeline for implementing these changes?

—Mark Sovel

The stakes are high, and the timeline is tight.

—Rio Longacre

… school districts can't open before Labor Day and must end by June 15. But to meet that compressed timeline … , districts have had to consider trade-offs.

—Donna St. George

3

: a stream of social media posts : feed sense 3e

Algorithmic timelines quietly replaced chronological ones, until our social-media feeds no longer took direction from us, but rather directed us where they wanted us to go.

—Yair Rosenberg

And if there's something funny … I make sure to Retweet so others can cleanse their timeline and enjoy.

—Andy Richardson

4

: a branch of a theoretical multiverse that exists in parallel with other branches

… the notion that we're surrounded by a multitude of parallel selves, one of which might be living in a better timeline than the one we're stuck in.

—S. I. Rosenbaum

—used especially in science fiction

… Dune: Awakening is set in an "alternate" timeline from the original Frank Herbert novels, where something has happened to change the course of history.

—Wes Fenlon

Examples of timeline in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Cons: Longer timeline, risk of fragmented, inconsistent systems, limited immediate impact. —Siddharth Gawshinde, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2024

Prosecutors develop timeline Prosecutors in New York laid out an extensive timeline starting when Mangione reportedly arrived by bus to New York City on Nov. 24. —John Bacon, USA TODAY, 19 Dec. 2024

Updates on the upcoming steel repair project timeline will be released once the contractor schedule is finalized. —Jennie Key, The Enquirer, 19 Dec. 2024

Instead, the court has laid out a rapid timeline to ensure that TikTok's concerns are weighed before the law's enforcement kicks in on January 19. —Ashley Belanger, Ars Technica, 18 Dec. 2024

Popovich thanked everyone for all the support along the way but failed to provide a timeline for his return. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 17 Dec. 2024

From this detailed view, Bitdefender provides a timeline of the most active attacks. —PCMAG, 17 Dec. 2024

Joseph Kenny, New York Police Department chief of detectives, provided new details on this timeline Friday. —Rebekah Riess, CNN, 7 Dec. 2024

This is a good word for Bri, who is slowly losing it in her timeline. —Lincee Ray, EW.com, 7 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1907, in the meaning defined at sense 1