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

The timeline will be largely set by the results of this most recent mission. —Brandon Truitt, CBS News, 11 Apr. 2026

The showrunners have been pleasantly surprised by the synchronicity building between art and life as the series moves deeper into the timeline, inspiring both cast and creators. —Jeff Spry, Space.com, 10 Apr. 2026

Here's what to know about their final preparations and the timeline for Orion’s return. —Tom Costello, NBC news, 10 Apr. 2026

His timeline to return to basketball will likely be longer than that. —Tony Jones, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2026

Nostalgia’s surging, and the timeline proves it. —Solo Ceesay, Rolling Stone, 10 Apr. 2026

But Tan posted on LinkedIn earlier this week that Elon Musk has tapped Intel to design, fabricate and package custom chips for SpaceX, xAI and Tesla at his ambitious Terafab project in Texas, though no financial details or timeline were announced. —Katie Tarasov, CNBC, 9 Apr. 2026

Across group chats, bridal forums, and doctors’ offices, a growing number of engaged couples are turning to GLP-1 medications—drugs originally developed to treat diabetes and now widely prescribed for weight loss—as part of their wedding preparation timeline. —Sara Radin, Vogue, 9 Apr. 2026

The big picture Tabarrok was also skeptical of the most alarming AI timelines. —Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 9 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1907, in the meaning defined at sense 1b