time frame

noun

variants or less commonly timeframe

ˈtīm-ˌfrām 

: a period of time especially with respect to some action or project

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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

They were not able to finish the project within the established time frame.

Recent Examples on the Web

The share of sales for the cheapest apparel online jumped from 36% in April 2019 to 53% in the same month this year, according to Adobe, while the market share of the most expensive apparel was more than halved, making up just 9% in the same time frame. —Anne D'innocenzio, Fortune, 15 May 2024

To protect himself, Davis asks his contractor how long the job will take, then adds two weeks to that time frame in the contract. —Lew Sichelman, Miami Herald, 13 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1964, in the meaning defined above