schedule
Americannoun
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schedules
plural
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a plan of procedure, usually written, for a proposed objective, especially with reference to the sequence of and time allotted for each item or operation necessary to its completion.
The schedule allows three weeks for this stage.
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a series of things to be done or of events to occur at or during a particular time or period.
He always has a full schedule.
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a timetable.
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a written or printed statement of details, often in classified or tabular form, especially one forming an appendix or explanatory addition to another document.
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Obsolete. a written paper.
noun
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a plan of procedure for a project, allotting the work to be done and the time for it
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a list of items
a schedule of fixed prices
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a list of times, esp of arrivals and departures; timetable
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a list of tasks to be performed, esp within a set period
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law a list or inventory, usually supplementary to a contract, will, etc
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at the expected or planned time
verb
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to make a schedule of or place in a schedule
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to plan to occur at a certain time
Synonym Usage
See list 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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schedulernoun
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subschedulenoun
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prescheduleverb (used with object)
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schedularadjective
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unscheduledadjective
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well-scheduledadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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schedulesimple
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schedulessimple
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have scheduledperfect
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has scheduledperfect
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am schedulingprogressive
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are schedulingprogressive
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is schedulingprogressive
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have been schedulingperfect progressive
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has been schedulingperfect progressive
Past
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scheduledsimple
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had scheduledperfect
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was schedulingprogressive
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were schedulingprogressive
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had been schedulingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of schedule
First recorded in 1350–1400; from Late Latin schedula, equivalent to Latin sched(a) “leaf of paper” + -ula noun suffix ( see -ule); replacing Middle English cedule, sedule, from Middle French, from Late Latin, as above
Explanation
A schedule is a plan of things to be done and the time when they will be done. It is the thing you write down in your planner. If you're a student, you probably have your class schedule memorized within the first few weeks of school. This noun derives from Middle English sedule "slip of parchment or paper, note," from Late Latin schedula, from scheda "a strip of papyrus," from Greek schida "a splinter of wood." The modern spelling schedule did not become established until the mid 17th century. And the current American pronunciation, patterned on words such as scheme and school, was not in use until the 19th century.
Vocabulary lists containing schedule
Words Whose Pronunciation Has Changed Over Time
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List 3
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Or maybe you’d rather leave your 9-to-5 and pursue a career with a less traditional schedule.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
Jimmy Garoppolo is no longer on the roster and Stafford was on a limited schedule during training camp, so Bennett worked with the first-team offense for the first time in his career.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
Its work is nearly 50% complete and “changing course now would introduce significant cost, schedule, and integration risks,” the company said in a statement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
PDT on Prime Video, the NBA announced Wednesday during another stage of the schedule release that will wrap up Thursday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
According to his mother, Phineas drives for nearly seven years on a regular schedule over the primitive roads between Valparaiso and Santiago.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
Even years later, many cities still haven’t fully returned to the schedules they kept before 2020.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
Yes, having different schedules from a potential partner can be difficult — especially if you get more serious and want children — but every relationship comes with its challenges.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
The NBA Cup opener is a second matchup in the first weeks of the season between the Lakers and the Warriors, who begin their regular-season schedules on Oct.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
The variation in standards and schedules across different index providers means you could end up with a patchwork.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
He got right to work, watching the East German guards, learning their schedules and routines, looking for soft spots.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
South Korea's defence ministry said the joint drills would "proceed as previously notified and scheduled" when asked about Trump's post.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
The coming week is expected to be relatively quiet, with no major economic reports scheduled.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 16, 2026
One traveler on Reddit said they were scheduled to fly from LAX to Kona on Sunday afternoon.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
The mother and daughter are scheduled to go to trial in September.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
“Fitting, when you think about it. This press conference is about as well planned as the one Big Bill Maxwell scheduled to coincide with the queen’s coronation.”
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
Beyond scheduling difficulties for parents, clinics and doctors’ offices, no company even makes separate immunizations for measles, mumps and rubella, Pan said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
Complaints regarding television and live streaming service adverts for the film were not upheld by the regulator, as Clearcast - which pre-approves TV and streaming ads - had applied a post-19:30 scheduling restriction.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
The clearest evidence came one late-summer afternoon, when several weeks of bad weather produced a scheduling anomaly: two neighborhood farmers markets on the same day.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026
The chain has also rolled out an order scheduling algorithm across stores to better sequence incoming transactions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
“I know you’re in preseason training, but I'm going to talk to Coach about scheduling in some tutoring time. I'm not going to be the guy who gave you an F and made you ineligible.”
From "Tradition" by Brendan Kiely
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
