timeline
Americannoun
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timelines
plural
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a linear representation of important events in the order in which they occurred.
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a schedule; timetable.
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Digital Technology.
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a collection of online posts or updates associated with a specific social media account, in reverse chronological order.
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an alternate reality in which events unfold differently, often beginning at a single identifiable moment of divergence that establishes a distinct but recognizable parallel existence: We’re stuck in the darkest timeline, trapped in a dystopian nightmare.
My free-love hippie mom just got engaged to a hedge fund manager—what timeline am I living in?
We’re stuck in the darkest timeline, trapped in a dystopian nightmare.
noun
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a graphic representation showing the passage of time as a line
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a time frame during which something is scheduled to happen
Usage
What is a timeline? A timeline is a visual representation of chronological events on a line. Timelines are often used in videos, textbooks, articles, or other media that is recounting history. In online news and entertainment, a timeline is also often used to keep track of events as they happen, especially for pressing stories such as major world events and important elections. On social media, a timeline is a broad term that refers to a collection of posts on someone’s account. For example, on Twitter, a user’s timeline is full of posts that they and those they follow create in an order determined by algorithm. While some social media sites might officially refer to such a collection as a page, board, or home, they can all casually be called timelines. Example: To recreate a timeline of events from that evening, we will need as many details as possible.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of timeline
First recorded in 1950–55; time ( def. ) + line 1 ( def. )
Explanation
A timeline is a list of important events arranged in the order in which they happened. You might write out a timeline of Civil War battles when you're studying for a big history test. Timelines are often used in history textbooks and biographies — they explain what happened during a certain period of time or to a particular person, starting with the earliest event and moving forward through time. Your own personal timeline, for example, might begin with your birth. Many timelines are represented graphically by an actual line that's dotted with points representing important events.
Vocabulary lists containing timeline
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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Reading: Informational - Middle School
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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:
The DOJ didn’t respond to my emailed request for an updated timeline.
From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026
Raman declined to give a timeline for McDonnell’s removal — even after NBC4’s Conan Nolan pressed her on whether she would replace him before the 2028 Summer Olympic Games in L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
"We are very focused on advancing the closure of Rikers Island on the fastest timeline possible," said Dana Kaplan, who is overseeing the mayor's efforts to shutter the jail.
From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026
The Southport Inquiry began formally on 7 April 2025 to examine the overall timeline of the killer's history and interactions with various public bodies.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
A dot on a long and continuous timeline.
From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga
But the company repeatedly delayed the vehicle, with Musk outlining several new targets and timelines that were missed.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026
Instead, different tissues follow their own developmental timelines.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026
Boeing said it is working to accelerate both timelines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026
She said doing the work in shorter segments would increase costs and project timelines — not a good thing when it needs to be finished by the Olympics.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
During the next three thousand years, Peru hosted so many diverse cultures that the archaeological timelines in textbooks, with their multiple arrows and switchbacks, are as impenetrable as the family trees of European kings.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
