chronology
Americannoun
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the sequential order in which past events occur.
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a statement of this order.
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the science of arranging time in periods and ascertaining the dates and historical order of past events.
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a reference work organized according to the dates of events.
noun
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the determination of the proper sequence of past events
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the arrangement of dates, events, etc, in order of occurrence
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a table or list of events arranged in order of occurrence
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of chronology
Explanation
A chronology is like a timeline: it tells what happened when. A chronology of your day would begin when you wake up and end when you go to sleep. Hopefully, something interesting happened in between. Khronos is the Greek word for "time" and that's where chronology comes from. If a movie has a lot of flashbacks or doesn't tell a story straight through from beginning to end, you might have to give it some thought in order to put together a chronology of events. If you are a detective, a correct chronology could be important to solving your case.
Vocabulary lists containing chronology
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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It's About Time: Chron and Temp
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Did You Planet? Words With Surprisingly Spacey Origins
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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.
The book covers a narrow chronology, from September 1776 to January 1777.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 29, 2026
Kennedy said aspects of Öpik's life before Armagh had been blurry, and her research helped establish firmer dates and a clearer chronology.
From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026
Initially intriguing, the jumbled chronology eventually proves to be largely decorative until a disappointing late-reel twist explains why the labored device was deployed in the first place.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026
Others favor a long chronology, placing their arrival at least 65,000 years ago.
From Science Daily • Mar. 22, 2026
The date fit the likely chronology of events: Geyer knew from the children’s letters that on that Sunday morning they had left Cincinnati and by evening had arrived in Indianapolis.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
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.
