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

As workforce woes continued, projects blew their budgets and timelines. —Davis Winkie, USA Today, 19 May 2025

Linkedin: Here’s some of what innovators are thinking about with AI research today When people talk about the timeline of artificial intelligence, many of them start in the 21st century. —John Werner, Forbes.com, 18 May 2025

Loan maximum: $400,000 Closing timeline: Five days Origination fee: Up to 4.99% Annual fee: None Unlike most HELOC issuers, Figure requires borrowers to take out their full line of available credit upon origination. —Kelsey Neubauer, CNBC, 18 May 2025

Trader Joe’s spokeswoman Nakia Rohde confirmed Friday that a store is planned in Matthews but could not confirm the location or timeline during the planning phase. —Catherine Muccigrosso, Charlotte Observer, 16 May 2025

May 16, 2025 However, Mendelson said Bowser’s timeline was unrealistic and likely wouldn’t be met. —Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 16 May 2025

Taylor — who just gave birth to a child with Dakota — is prepared with a full timeline of Dakota’s claims. —Olivia Crandall, Vulture, 15 May 2025

Related article Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs timeline: The key events and allegations against the hip-hop mogul now on trial Some messages also showed her frustrations with her relationship with Combs. —Nicki Brown, CNN Money, 15 May 2025

Consider how this gives a different perspective on the timeline. —Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 4 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1907, in the meaning defined at sense 1