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

The Last Five Years follows the demise of a relationship between a rising novelist named Jamie (Nick) and a struggling actress named Cathy (Warren), across two different timelines. —Dave Quinn, People.com, 19 Mar. 2025

Based on that timeline, Sabonis will likely miss a minimum of six games. —Jason Anderson, Sacramento Bee, 19 Mar. 2025

The city could reduce that timeline by a year by having the design and construction work as one team, rather than separately as is the current structure, the panel argued. —Graham Rayman, New York Daily News, 19 Mar. 2025

The Russian military continues to reclaim territory in Kursk, and on a long enough timeline, the region may be reclaimed without the aid of the U.S. — a scenario that would lose one of Ukraine’s most valuable bargaining chips. —Timothy Nerozzi, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 18 Mar. 2025

However, lawyers representing some of the migrants argued that assertion not only conflicts with the timeline of events but also misconstrues when the United States loses jurisdiction of the noncitizens. —Katherine Faulders, ABC News, 17 Mar. 2025

The production’s timeline has yet to be announced but Gail Berman, Sam Feldman, Michael Gorfaine, and Jimmy Nederlander are producing the musical alongside Frank Marshall and Jere Harris, according to Variety. —Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 17 Mar. 2025

Egyptian officials with knowledge of the talks told NPR the Israelis came to Cairo to discuss the proposal of releasing half the living hostages, and are unwilling at this stage to discuss any other proposals that include timelines for ending the war or withdrawing from Gaza's border with Egypt. —Aya Batrawy, NPR, 17 Mar. 2025

The latest setbacks, including the March 2025 Starship explosion that scattered fiery debris visible across Florida and the Caribbean and briefly halted flights from Miami area airports, raise questions about this timeline. —Luis E. Romero, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1907, in the meaning defined at sense 1