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 This blog post cherry-picks both the time frame and the specific month, a methodology experts say is flawed. — Kate S. Petersen, USA TODAY, 11 Apr. 2022 That is double the overall weekly rate of hospitalizations for all races during the same time frame and nearly triple the rate of hospitalizations for White people at any point during the pandemic, according to a CNN analysis of CDC data. — Jacqueline Howard, CNN, 8 Apr. 2022 Agencies must take the time to explain this reasoning, when to expect quick wins, and a time frame for larger-impact projects. — Expert Panel®, Forbes, 17 Mar. 2022 The Tigta spokesman said that the audit is in a planning phase and that the inspector general’s office hasn’t finalized the scope or time frame of the review. — Joe Palazzolo And Richard Rubin, WSJ, 3 Mar. 2022 An episode count and premiere time frame for Bus has not yet been determined. — Lesley Goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Feb. 2022 Considering the location and time frame of the gunfire, detectives were trying to determine whether the three incidents were related, Lt. Andra Brown said. — San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Feb. 2022 The firm didn’t give a reason for the delisting, or a time frame for the Hong Kong listing. — Jane Li, Quartz, 2 Dec. 2021 According to a memo from the Solon Police Department, the Flock Safety camera system makes actionable evidence available that is easily searchable by car type, model, color, time frame and license plate details. — Ed Wittenberg, cleveland, 10 Sep. 2021 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'time frame.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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