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• chart
  chart

  noun

  a sheet exhibiting information in tabular form.
• chart.
  chart.

  abbreviation

  (in prescriptions) a paper.

chart

¹ American  

[chahrt] / tʃɑrt /

noun

• charts
  plural

1. a sheet exhibiting information in tabular form.

2. a graphic representation, as by curves, of a dependent variable, as temperature, price, etc.; graph.

3. a map, especially a hydrographic or marine map.

4. an outline map showing special conditions or facts.

   a weather chart.

5. Astrology. horoscope.

6. Jazz. a musical arrangement.

7. the charts, ratings of the popularity of popular-music records, usually based on nationwide sales for a given week.

   Their album is number three on the charts this week.

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verb (used with object)

• charts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• charted,
  past participle,  past
• charting
  present participle

1. to make a chart of.

2. to plan.

   to chart a course of action.

   Synonyms:

   outline, draft

3. Informal. to rank in the charts.

   The new song gets charted number four this week.

idioms

1. off the charts, greatly exceeding the general level or average: Also off the chart

   Demand for the new phone is off the charts.

chart. ² American  

abbreviation

1. (in prescriptions) a paper.

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chart British  

/ tʃɑːt /

noun

1. a map designed to aid navigation by sea or air

2. an outline map, esp one on which weather information is plotted

3. a sheet giving graphical, tabular, or diagrammatical information

4. another name for graph

5. astrology another word for horoscope

6. informal the lists produced weekly from various sources of the bestselling pop singles and albums or the most popular videos

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verb

1. (tr) to make a chart of

2. (tr) to make a detailed plan of

3. (tr) to plot or outline the course of

4. (intr) (of a record or video) to appear in the charts (sense 6)

Synonym Usage

See map.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• prechart
  verb (used with object)
• rechart
  verb (used with object)
• chartable
  adjective
• precharted
  adjective
• well-charted
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• charts
  plural

Participles

• charting
  present
• charted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• chart
  simple
• charts
  simple
• have charted
  perfect
• has charted
  perfect
• am charting
  progressive
• are charting
  progressive
• is charting
  progressive
• have been charting
  perfect progressive
• has been charting
  perfect progressive

Past

• charted
  simple
• had charted
  perfect
• was charting
  progressive
• were charting
  progressive
• had been charting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will chart
  simple
• will have charted
  perfect
• will be charting
  progressive
• will have been charting
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of chart¹

1565–75; from Middle French charte, from Latin c(h)arta; see charta

Origin of chart.²

From the Latin word charta

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Explanation

Whether it's a kind of graph, a map, or even a piece of music, a chart is a visual display of information. As a verb, chart means to make that kind of display. Some words' meanings grow narrower over the centuries. But in the case of chart, which comes from the French charte and Latin charta, "map," the meanings have grown a lot since the 1500s. Now, chart is a noun meaning any visual index of information, as in "that song is shooting up the charts." It's also still a map, as in "harbor chart." And it's a verb, as in "to chart your progress, make a chart."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chart chart. charts charted charting

Rahm chose to chart a new path, right as it became clear that the options for LIV players were winnowing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

I’ll also be checking out Folia, a planning site I heard about that helps you track just about everything including budget, invoices, guest list and seating chart.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026

Some unironic astrology: To celebrate Slate’s 30th birthday, Slate writer Heather Schwedel asked several astrologers to interpret the magazine’s birth chart.

From Slate ● Oct. 13, 2026

Stocks now account for more than a 30% share of total U.S. household assets, versus real estate at closer to 25%, according to the below chart from TD Securities.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026

After the thermometer beeps, the nurse flicks the cone into the wastebasket and writes something on my chart.

From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen

"This is another step again. Off the chart. The most outrageous so far."

From BBC ● May 22, 2026

“We’re accustomed to seeing those Disney films at the top of the chart. They kind of had to split the audience with ‘Trolls.’”

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 26, 2023

Latona said, "Please stop calling what happened 'a demise' because it's upsetting her. And also stop asking her the same thing over and over. It's in the chart. Put it in the chart."

From Salon ● Nov. 1, 2022

“She somehow neglected to get all the information in the chart. That’s tragic and I also have great compassion for her humanity.”

From Washington Post ● Mar. 6, 2020

“Good. Now I want you to look at this chart. Do you see here?”

From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini

By the end of 2022, her dance track Escapism featuring US rapper 070 Shake had gone viral on TikTok and shot up the charts to number one.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

Muse is currently the top app on both the Apple and Google U.S. charts.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026

Ms. Li’s novel about the vanity of artistic glory charts John’s youth as he is trained from infancy to be “the next Mozart.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

Watching “That Thing You Do!” climbing the charts throughout the movie is a peek into an alien musical world, one that was both more regional and more monocultural than the one we inhabit today.

From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026

The navigator and I have it easy—my drawings and his charts are treated as beyond scrutiny.

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman

All 349 “murmurs” in the Twilight saga: In this very scientific investigation, Rachelle Hampton ranked and charted all the times Stephenie Meyer used the word murmur in her YA vampire series.

From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2026

Based on Sally Rooney's novel, the BBC Three drama charted the on-off relationship of teenagers Marianne and Connell, played by Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

I can view all the categories of bloodwork results charted to show trends from previous tests and whether my results are below or above the normal range.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

Goldman Sachs strategist on Thursday charted five-year rolling returns on the all-important 10-year Treasury note — pegging it as the worst such period for returns in more than a century.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026

Their educational attainments were noted, marriages followed, illnesses tabulated, psychological health charted, and every promotion and job change dutifully recorded.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell

Sweden's truth commission, set up in 2021, was tasked with charting and investigating the policies affecting the Sami and their implementation.

From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026

How the singer-turned-congressional candidate Bobby Pulido is charting a path for Democrats in rural and Latino districts.

From Slate ● Sep. 24, 2026

Their dataset included 381 survey transects across 38 catchments and 499 rural properties, along with models charting the distributions of 160 bird species and 426 tree species.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026

The Americans bought into the package and Zuffa Boxing leaned heavily into his aura, with Dame Helen Mirren narrating a promotional film charting his rise.

From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026

The children thought it all a great game; by turns they pretended they were moles in dark tunnels, or explorers charting an unmapped jungle, or Postal Tygers delivering the mail along an unfamiliar route.

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood

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