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

That compressed timeline changes the whole defensive game. —Scott Alldridge, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026

Officials cited the heat shield concerns as part of the need to add additional testing in space to the Artemis timeline. —Margaret Landis, The Conversation, 18 June 2026

On the question of a release date, producer Wang Tianxiao said no timeline had been confirmed. —Marcus Lim, Variety, 18 June 2026

The timeline Caltrans is expected to ask the California Transportation Commission for $225 million later this summer to fund the tunnel’s design phase, which involves international experts in tunnel design and construction in seismically active zones, Matteoli said. —Los Angeles Times, 18 June 2026

The First Alert Weather Team is keeping an eye on this next storm system, just in case the timeline speeds up. —Cutter Martin, CBS News, 18 June 2026

Currently at a very preliminary stage, the timeline to build the projects wasn’t immediately known. —George Avalos, Mercury News, 18 June 2026

The plan’s goals have timelines from one to 10 years for completion. —Kamal Morgan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 18 June 2026

There’s no clear timeline for the review and implementation of other parts of the rule passed by the Biden administration, including improving onboard wheelchairs and other provisions. —Zach Wichter, USA Today, 18 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1907, in the meaning defined at sense 1b