timeline

noun

time·​line ˈtīm-ˌlīn 

variants or time line

plural timelines or time lines

1

a

: an arrangement or occurrence (as of past events) in time : chronology

After interviewing the suspect, the wardens pieced together a timeline of events and gathered enough evidence to file appropriate charges …

—Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

b

: a visual representation of events associated with a particular period of time arranged chronologically along a line or in a linear format

The book also includes a timeline, showing which dinosaurs lived when and where, and how the Earth has changed over millions of years.

—The Children's Bookwatch

In her "Foundations of Western Civilization" course … Prof. Julia Gossard has her students create a timeline of the history of food …

—Thomas Keith

c

: a schedule of planned events, actions, etc. : timetable sense 2

With just under a year left until your nuptials, here's what's next on your wedding planning timeline.

—Sarah Hanlon

Giving the client a say in every step of the project could create a delay and throw off the timeline …

—Katie Bates

2

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

And what's the timeline for implementing these changes?

—Mark Sovel

The stakes are high, and the timeline is tight.

—Rio Longacre

… school districts can't open before Labor Day and must end by June 15. But to meet that compressed timeline … , districts have had to consider trade-offs.

—Donna St. George

3

: a stream of social media posts : feed sense 3e

Algorithmic timelines quietly replaced chronological ones, until our social-media feeds no longer took direction from us, but rather directed us where they wanted us to go.

—Yair Rosenberg

And if there's something funny … I make sure to Retweet so others can cleanse their timeline and enjoy.

—Andy Richardson

4

: a branch of a theoretical multiverse that exists in parallel with other branches

… the notion that we're surrounded by a multitude of parallel selves, one of which might be living in a better timeline than the one we're stuck in.

—S. I. Rosenbaum

—used especially in science fiction

… Dune: Awakening is set in an "alternate" timeline from the original Frank Herbert novels, where something has happened to change the course of history.

—Wes Fenlon

Examples of timeline in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

With fewer matches, shorter timelines and captaincy playing a huge role, identifying the right elite assets can make or break your World Cup Fantasy campaign. —Abdul Rehman, New York Times, 11 June 2026

The ideas were ambitious, but the timelines were long, the tools were limited, and most companies were far from proving their therapies could work in humans. —Dasha Shunina, Forbes.com, 11 June 2026

The 10-month timeline follows the methodical technical work that went into the process. —Matthew Jacobs, HollywoodReporter, 11 June 2026

The president said Pulte will take over for Tulsi Gabbard on June 19, and his announcement of Clayton's nomination did not change that timeline. —Kathryn Watson, CBS News, 11 June 2026

Outline expectations for a project, back them with a simple timeline everyone can meet, and name who owns each checkpoint in writing. —Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 11 June 2026

At the time of the injury, Chiefs vice president of sports medicine and performance Rick Burkholder provided a broad seven-to-11-month recovery timeline — and every update since has leaned optimistic. —Pete Sweeney, Kansas City Star, 11 June 2026

Stanford says human clinical trials are expected in the near future, but drug development timelines from first-in-human trial to approval typically span several years. —Allison Palmer, Miami Herald, 11 June 2026

These updates are standard procedural notifications under the SPA and do not indicate a change to delivery timelines. —Matthew Martin, semafor.com, 11 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1907, in the meaning defined at sense 1b