# timeline

Pronunciation: say "TYM-lyn" /ˈtaɪmˌlaɪn/

## Noun

1. A schedule listing activities and the times at which they are planned to take place.
   - Simple: A plan that lists each task or activity and when it should happen.
   - _The manager laid out a strict timeline for the product launch._
   - _Volunteers followed the event timeline to keep each activity on track._
2. A graphical representation of events arranged in the order they occur in time, whether past or future.
   - Simple: A drawing or chart that shows events in the order they happened or will happen.
   - _The museum exhibit featured a timeline tracing human migration across continents._
   - _She sketched a timeline on the whiteboard to map the project's milestones._
3. An individual universe or reality, especially a parallel or alternate one in which events differ from actual history or from a fictional world's established canon.
   - Simple: One of several possible versions of reality, where events happen differently than in our own world.
   - _The comic reveals that the two heroes come from separate timelines that briefly merge._
   - _By changing one decision, the character splits off into an entirely new timeline._

## Verb

4. To display a chronological sequence of events in graphical form.
   - Simple: To show a set of events as a chart in the order they happen.
   - _The software will timeline each milestone across the project's full duration._
   - _Researchers timelined the eruption's phases to show how the pressure built._
5. To examine a sequence of events or activities in order to understand how they unfold.
   - Simple: To study a set of events to understand their order and how they connect.
   - _Investigators timelined the network breach to determine how the attackers moved._
   - _Analysts timeline each transaction before drawing any conclusions about the fraud._

## Origin

Formed by combining "time" and "line."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/timeline (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).