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
Mekishana Pierre, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Jan. 2026
Emergency department visits for the young children grew 225%, and hospitalization almost tripled in the same time frame.
—Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald, 7 Jan. 2026
The letter does not indicate a total page count for the millions of records under review and provides no specific time frame for when the DOJ expects to complete the work or when to expect its next public disclosure.
—James Hill, ABC News, 6 Jan. 2026
Heavier precipitation will occur in this time frame with rain potentially changing to snow and resulting in a couple of inches of heavy wet snow on I-5.
—Ca Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 5 Jan. 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 8 Jan. 2026.
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