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 chain’s eight Roastery and Reserve locations in the US and China will phase out the label, according to an internal memo seen by Bloomberg News, which didn’t outline the timeline for the removal. —Fortune, 26 Sep. 2024

For example, Germany, France, and Ireland have all issued detailed information, including procedures and timelines. —Nimrod Lehavi, Forbes, 25 Sep. 2024

OpenAI did not immediately respond to a question about the timeline for her formal exit for the company or when a new CTO would be announced. —Clare Duffy, CNN, 25 Sep. 2024

The chunky black frames, demonstrated by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, are still in development with no timeline on launch. —Zev Fima, CNBC, 25 Sep. 2024

Look at all the television shows, look at all the stories, look at all the characters and timelines. —Marc Malkin, Variety, 24 Sep. 2024

Laila’s daughter Sidney is also blossoming and received some love on her mother’s timeline. —Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 24 Sep. 2024

In recent years, computer modeling has greatly accelerated the project’s timeline, and Gaudí fans who once despaired of ever seeing La Sagrada Familia finished in their lifetimes will get to see it soon. —Michael Y. Park, Architectural Digest, 23 Sep. 2024

Powers drew inspiration for the story’s shifting time lines from the double-helix structure of DNA. —Hua Hsu, The New Yorker, 9 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1907, in the meaning defined at sense 1