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

Horvath would have had to forfeit her seat to run against Bass, while facing a tight timeline for fundraising. —David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 7 Feb. 2026

The return of the remains of hostages meanwhile stretched far beyond the 72-hour timeline outlined in the agreement. —Sam Metz, Chicago Tribune, 6 Feb. 2026

Following a precise six-week timeline, the earliest Watson could be able to return is March 6, when the Nuggets face the Knicks again. —Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 6 Feb. 2026

Rattling off the potential for irreparable harm, the attorney said that demobilizing the project and then restarting it would significantly delay the overall timeline of the critical infrastructure project, or even torpedo the whole thing. —Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 6 Feb. 2026

Three to five months is our take on a return timeline. —Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 6 Feb. 2026

Snow timeline for Massachusetts Snow will arrive before dawn on Saturday. —Terry Eliasen, CBS News, 6 Feb. 2026

And a new timeline details the moments before Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance. —Kayla Hayempour, NBC news, 6 Feb. 2026

Judge Gregory Carro, who is overseeing Mangione’s state murder case, accelerated the timeline at a hearing Friday. —Nicki Brown, CNN Money, 6 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1907, in the meaning defined at sense 1b