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

In software development, AI can function like an outsourced team, accelerating coding efforts and reducing development timelines. —Edouard Viot, Forbes.com, 30 May 2025

Sacking of the Season Hull City sacked Tim Walter with the club third bottom of the Championship, which seemed fair enough, but the timeline of events was truly glorious. —Tim Spiers, New York Times, 30 May 2025

The next chapter rewinds the timeline only a day or so, revealing poignant context for Adnan’s exploratory spirit in the previous two. —Guy Lodge, Variety, 30 May 2025

At the very bottom of the screen are buttons for starting a live video and viewing a timeline of events. —PC Magazine, 29 May 2025

Alessi looked to nail down a timeline of when Welcher may have made changes to the document and whether the prosecution communicated with him regarding the alterations. —Julia Bonavita , Adam Sabes, FOXNews.com, 29 May 2025

But there are vast logistical hurdles to achieving this optimistic timeline for ubiquitous consumer A.I. More than a billion people in the world own iPhones. —Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 28 May 2025

That timeline could mean bedbugs are the earliest urban pests, write the authors of the study. —Sara Hashemi, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 May 2025

This person did indicate that there is pressure to get deals done by the timeline due to uncertainties over whether Trump would extend the deadline or put rates back up to their reciprocal level. —Vicki M. Young, Footwear News, 28 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1907, in the meaning defined at sense 1