flow chart

American

Or flowchart

noun

Also called flow sheet. a detailed diagram or chart of the operations and equipment through which material passes, as in a manufacturing process.
a graphic representation, using symbols interconnected with lines, of the successive steps in a procedure or system.

flow chart British

noun

a diagrammatic representation of the sequence of operations or equipment in an industrial process, computer program, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of flow chart

First recorded in 1915–20

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:

flow chart

The best way to think about it is a step-by-step route - picture a flow chart - that teenagers can follow from school into any given technical career.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

I wish clinics handed you a flow chart of how it can all go, and what triggers a cost.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026

She pointed to a flow chart on the wall, titled “Ready for the World,” that Carvalho’s team distributed after he arrived in 2022.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 18, 2026

Rackoll is hoping to develop a tool for these larger reviews: a flow chart with a series of checkpoints that guide researchers as they consider each paper for possible inclusion.

From Science Magazine ● Nov. 28, 2024

Stan visualized the flow chart of the machine as he approached.

From Alarm Clock by Dongen, H. R. van

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023