time frame

noun

variants: or less commonly timeframe play \ˈtīm-ˌfrām\

Updated on: 22 Apr 2018

Definition of time frame

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

See time frame defined for English-language learners

Examples of time frame in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of time frame from the Web

The Phoenix store is one of 13 debuting in that time frame.

— jennifer mcclellan, azcentral, "Sprouts Farmers Market opens April 11 in Scottsdale as 'new engine' of Shops Gainey Village," 10 Apr. 2018
Three infants who would’ve been protected under the Safe Haven law have died since the law’s enactment and in that same time frame, five have been abandoned but have survived, DCF data showed.

— sandra gomez-aceves, courant.com, "Legislators Push For Education Of Safe Haven Law In Public High Schools," 4 Apr. 2018
In that time frame, D.C. had its last freeze as early as Feb. 27 in 2010 and as late as April 13 in 1990.

— ian livingston, Washington Post, "When will the last freeze happen around the D.C. region, and when is it safe to plant?," 3 Apr. 2018
In total viewers in that time frame, CNN averaged 2.382 million, according to Nielsen.

— hal boedeker, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Trump affair interview lifts CNN," 23 Mar. 2018
Kendall County was ranked fifth nationally, with its population growing 4.9 percent to more than 44,000 residents in that same one-year time frame.

— peggy o’hare, San Antonio Express-News, "Comal ranks second among nation’s fastest-growing counties," 21 Mar. 2018
However, nearly one quarter required a second surgery in that time frame.

— alan mozes, chicagotribune.com, "Weight-loss surgery beats meds for obese, diabetic teens, study says," 21 Mar. 2018
New Jersey had the country’s second-highest increase, 44.6 percent, in death rates in that time frame.

— aubrey whelan, Philly.com, "Early overdose counts show declines in Midwest, skyrocketing increases in PA, NJ," 16 Mar. 2018
Its largest export was coal; the report concluded that North Korea exported $413.6 million in coal in that time frame — $12.7 million above the United Nations cap.

— motoko rich, New York Times, "Wine and Diamonds: How North Korea Dodges Sanctions," 16 Mar. 2018

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.

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.