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

Here, real estate experts offer tips on how to plan and execute a renovation timeline and how to effectively manage it. —Kristine Gill, Better Homes & Gardens, 18 Jan. 2025

Just as the Season 1 finale amped up the stakes by expanding the show’s scale in revealing that there were dozens of other silos, the Season 2 finale expands the timeline of the show by throwing things back to the past. —Barry Levitt, TIME, 17 Jan. 2025

Experts don’t have an exact timeline of when people should head back to burn areas; their main advice is to listen to local authorities. —Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 17 Jan. 2025

City staff said in the report that the project’s timeline is being pushed back because of the city’s review of the project’s plans. —R. Christian Smith, Chicago Tribune, 16 Jan. 2025

Celebrations erupted around the world as talks of the deal spread, though many of its details and the timeline remain unclear. —Alexandra Banner, CNN, 16 Jan. 2025

Club name DuPont moved up its timeline for spinning off its electronics business, targeting Nov. 1. —Matthew J. Belvedere, CNBC, 16 Jan. 2025

That will give the Blue Jackets a better timeline for recovery. —Aaron Portzline, The Athletic, 16 Jan. 2025

Noe emphasizes that the timeline for such releases is driven by the whiskey itself, not by external deadlines. —Rachel King, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1907, in the meaning defined at sense 1