time frame
noun
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time frame or timeframe?
Should time frame be written as one word or two? At present, it is most commonly styled as two words with no hyphen in between.
Compounds, or “words consisting of components that are words,” come in three varieties: open (two words with a space between them, such as lima bean), hyphenated (two words with a hyphen between them, such as runner-up), and closed (one word, such as rowboat). In some cases, competing compound stylings appear in different publications. This is generally acceptable as long as the spelling remains consistent throughout a book or periodical.
Compounds have a tendency to move from open to closed as time goes by, and our evidence suggests that time frame is headed in this direction. At this point, however, the open compound is far more prevalent.
Examples of time frame in a Sentence
India Espy-Jones, Essence, 21 Mar. 2025
The highest scoring game in this time frame was in 2019 when Virginia defeated Texas Tech in overtime.
—Caitlin O'Kane, CBS News, 20 Mar. 2025
School food facilities, for example, cannot have more than one violation over a three-year period, and bars that don’t prepare their own food can’t have more than two violations in the same time frame.
—Camila Pedrosa, Sacramento Bee, 20 Mar. 2025
The trade deficit with Canada and Mexico has surged since the deal was reached, with Canada’s ballooning from $26 billion to $63 billion since 2019 and Mexico’s growing from $99 billion to $172 billion over the same time frame.
—Anna Giaritelli, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 12 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for time frame
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Cite this Entry
“Time frame.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/time%20frame. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.
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