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 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

Investigators are still working to determine an exact timeline of what happened, Morse said. —Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 7 Mar. 2025

Scott, director of the original Alien, disregarded Alien vs. Predator when crafting his own Alien prequels, Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, opting for his own mythology and timeline. —Randall Colburn, EW.com, 7 Mar. 2025

Although the entire route from San Francisco to Los Angeles was environmentally cleared last year for construction, there is no clear timeline for when construction would begin elsewhere. —Colleen Shalby, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2025

The exact timeline of the events that followed remains unclear. —Rebecca Aizin, People.com, 6 Mar. 2025

This has a huge impact on carbon footprint, material costs, insurance and delivery timelines. —Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, Fox News, 6 Mar. 2025

In the main timeline of Born Again, though, Matt has retired the Daredevil persona entirely and gone straight, trying to make New York City a better place through law rather than back-alley beatdowns. —Ben Rosenstock, TIME, 5 Mar. 2025

As for Harvey’s upcoming appearance, he will be seen in the flashback timeline before he, eventually, pops up in the present and, hopefully, reconnects with Stephen Amell’s character, entertainment lawyer Ted Black. —Vlada Gelman, TVLine, 5 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1907, in the meaning defined at sense 1