diagram
Americannoun
-
diagrams
plural
-
a figure, usually consisting of a line drawing, made to accompany and illustrate a geometrical theorem, mathematical demonstration, etc.
-
a drawing or plan that outlines and explains the parts, operation, etc., of something.
a diagram of an engine.
-
a chart, plan, or scheme.
verb (used with object)
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diagrams,
present (3rd person singular)
-
diagramed,
past participle, past
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diagrammed,
past participle, past
-
diagraming,
present participle
-
diagramming
present participle
noun
-
a sketch, outline, or plan demonstrating the form or workings of something
-
maths a pictorial representation of a quantity or of a relationship
a Venn diagram
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
diagrammableadjective
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diagrammaticadjective
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misdiagrammedadjective
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undiagramedadjective
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undiagrammedadjective
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diagrammaticallyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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diagramsimple
-
diagramssimple
-
have diagramedperfect
-
have diagrammedperfect
-
has diagramedperfect
-
has diagrammedperfect
-
am diagramingprogressive
-
am diagrammingprogressive
-
are diagramingprogressive
-
are diagrammingprogressive
-
is diagramingprogressive
-
is diagrammingprogressive
-
have been diagramingperfect progressive
-
have been diagrammingperfect progressive
-
has been diagramingperfect progressive
-
has been diagrammingperfect progressive
Past
-
diagramedsimple
-
diagrammedsimple
-
had diagramedperfect
-
had diagrammedperfect
-
was diagramingprogressive
-
was diagrammingprogressive
-
were diagramingprogressive
-
were diagrammingprogressive
-
had been diagramingperfect progressive
-
had been diagrammingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of diagram
1610–20; < Latin diagramma < Greek: that which is marked out by lines. See dia-, -gram 1
Explanation
A diagram is a drawing that shows the different parts of something and how they work together. If you follow a diagram for assembling bunk beds and finish with parts left over, you should ask for the top bunk, not the bottom one. Diagram goes back to the Greek verb diagraphein, meaning "to mark out by lines," and a diagram uses line drawings to explain something. Electronic equipment comes with a long instruction booklet and a one-page diagram, and it's usually the diagram that helps most in connecting the device. A diagram can also be a complex drawing, like an engineering plan for airplanes. When you make a line drawing of your own, you can use diagram as a verb, as when you diagram a sentence.
Vocabulary lists containing diagram
Write On!: Graph and Gram
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TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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Word Generation Science - Scientific Thinking
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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:
Guests will also receive a zine-style pamphlet with the same homespun appeal explaining each of the eight sections in RM’s words alongside a diagram of the room.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026
Professor Nohria plugs the talent agency game into a basic diagram.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
However, of the files released, the FBI has only produced one document referring to the diagram, despite its evidential significance, and this was only created 11 years after the diagram's initial discovery in 2001.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
The book includes numerous photos of the Gadget in its final form, as well as a diagram of what scientists thought the mushroom cloud would look like.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
And she knew Beowulf was quite talented at drawing; by now he had no doubt sketched a scale diagram of Buckingham Palace’s fluted columns and soothing symmetrical features, with no bloody claws to be seen.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
“Turns out we just have some paperwork to do and some diagrams but as everybody knows, I’m looking to move so I can be more educational and help more animals,” Blair wrote.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
Collina believes it is hugely important to use real scenarios, not just dossiers and diagrams.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
No need to untangle the complex hypocrisy here — it’s all laid out in arrows and diagrams.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
To illustrate witness testimony, the Journal created a scale rendering, using police diagrams, measurements, video and photographs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 21, 2025
We were so relieved, we didn’t think to clear off the table with the diagrams.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
The 15-1 vote favors the “North of C-ID” option, just diagramed this winter, underground near the corner of Fourth Avenue and James Street.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 24, 2023
Watch Purdy take the snap, forget what’s supposed to happen or how a play was diagramed, keep your eyes on the overachieving quarterback, and just hold your breath.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 28, 2023
Gilligan showed me an iPad with a schematic of the set, upon which he’d diagramed Odenkirk’s looping path through the house and the camera angles he devised to capture it.
From New York Times ● Feb. 9, 2022
He was a coach with few rules, but players competed hard for him because he managed relationships as well as he diagramed plays.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 29, 2021
“We haven’t diagramed a single sentence all year. I’m getting worried about the College Boards.”
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
They diagrammed it for their BP sponsors as a big triangle beneath the rising line of future carbon emissions, what Socolow recalls describing as a “wedge,” cut up into equal-sized slices.
From Salon ● Jun. 26, 2026
The shift in attitude hasn’t been firmly diagrammed; instead, what’s going on here is mostly subconscious, like a collective unlocking of forbidden territory.
From Slate ● Feb. 12, 2026
Forget the stodgy days of X’s and O’s diagrammed in the playbook.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 27, 2022
You already have diagrammed some of the Mark Twain excerpt and know how plots move along.
From Textbooks ● Dec. 21, 2021
She moved through our classroom as coolly as if Khesanh were just a proper noun in a sentence that needed to be diagrammed.
From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt
Schmedding won’t be the only one diagraming plans to slow down that offense.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 22, 2023
Willis said he’s had no problem diagraming plays — whether it be Liberty’s offense or the plays taught to him during the session.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 2, 2022
I do a lot of diagraming stuff before I ever sit down with a computer.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 14, 2020
A senior animal keeper, Nicole Ethier, gave out marching orders like a football coach diagraming a complicated play.
From New York Times ● May 16, 2018
Oh, I see," Cleo replied, somewhat satisfied at the diagraming, "and our vacation out at Bellaire is to be a cross between a wedding and a trip to Europe.
From The Girl Scouts at Bellaire Or Maid Mary's Awakening by Lilian Garis
Watching film and diagramming plays deep into the night.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
On the upside, kids no longer have to spend hours of their wild and precious lives diagramming sentences.
From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2025
It’s much more than an exercise in diagramming a sentence.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 24, 2023
Breaking through creative roadblocks can be challenging, but Isaac and Karen trade tricks, such as diagramming passages of your favorite writing and inventing weird rules to find a voice that fits your work.
From Slate ● Mar. 24, 2022
We went back to diagramming sentences, focusing on the imperfect tenses.
From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt
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