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 average consumer will spend $567 in that time frame, with eight out of 10 planning to shop, Deloitte reports in its 2023 holiday retail survey. —

Bychris Morris, Fortune, 21 Nov. 2023 Analysts have pondered the reason for the delay past the October time frame. —

Bryan Pietsch, Washington Post, 21 Nov. 2023 The percentage of Americans who are Jewish has declined over a similar time frame, from about 3.2% in 1957 to about 2.4% in 2020, according to survey data from the Census Bureau and the Pew Research Center. —

David Ingram, NBC News, 19 Nov. 2023 That time frame is especially important given the NCAA’s early signing period runs from Dec. 20-22. —

Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Nov. 2023 Removing the time frame around when a patient stopped smoking and expanding the age recommendation for screening is expected to help detect more cancers, Belton said. —

Korin Miller Published, Verywell Health, 1 Nov. 2023 During that time frame, the United States had shown notable strength on behalf of its partner Ukraine. —

Foreign Affairs, 6 Nov. 2023 Complaint investigations can range from several days — in cases with compelling evidence, such as a video — to a year, Munoz said, adding that cases such as the Mission gang scandal in which officers are accused of criminal behavior can stretch beyond that time frame. —

Libor Jany, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2023 The film’s time frames are intermingled, leaping back and forth through years and decades. —

Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'time frame.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.