time frame
noun
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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
Shawn Tully, Fortune, 14 Mar. 2026
The chemical was disposed of onsite during the time frame from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s.
—Paula Wethington, CBS News, 12 Mar. 2026
On average, people who had not taken any antibiotics in the past eight years had about 350 unique bacterial species living in their gut, but those who had taken any antibiotics in that time frame had fewer.
—Lori Youmshajekian, Scientific American, 11 Mar. 2026
In that same time frame, the area’s white population grew by 22%.
—Madeline King, Chicago Tribune, 11 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for time frame
Cite this Entry
“Time frame.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/time%20frame. Accessed 18 Mar. 2026.
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