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 War Powers Resolution of 1973 lays out a timeline for when lawmakers must be notified of hostilities and when a president is required to withdraw American forces from a conflict in the absence of congressional authorization. —Caitlin Yilek, CBS News, 30 Apr. 2026

The company is building facilities in Brisbane and Chicago, with hopes to bring the former online next year, ahead of many of its competitors’ timelines. —Rachyl Jones, semafor.com, 30 Apr. 2026

Coming two to four years early, the timeline of long-threaten process from MAGA loyalist Carr could prove ultimately to be an empty threat to pressure the now Josh D’Amaro run Disney. —Dominic Patten, Deadline, 30 Apr. 2026

The new filing will restart the clock, which leaves a likely timeline for rejection or approval by the Surface Transportation Board sometime next year — if the board accepts the application as complete within the next month. —Emma Hurt, AJC.com, 30 Apr. 2026

The rollout has been targeted for late 2026 to 2027, though delays tied to whether the technology is ready could push that timeline further. —Tiffani Jackson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Apr. 2026

There remain other, muddled storylines across this LIV timeline that won’t get untangled. —Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 30 Apr. 2026

But the timeline remains gloriously unconfirmed At the same time, the only confirmation the Beyhive has actually gotten from Team Parkwood is actually a lack of confirmation. —Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 30 Apr. 2026

The Supreme Court asked the Black voters who defended the map to respond to the challengers’ request by Thursday afternoon, a tight timeline that suggests the justices could issue a quick decision. —Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 30 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1907, in the meaning defined at sense 1b