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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

Here’s the latest year-to-date performance chart for the three ETFs and the full S&P 500:

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 22, 2026

The 23-year-old McRae, on the other hand, will have her past decisions dug up by what remains of the music press after each new chart smash.

From Salon ● Oct. 21, 2026

Fast-forward five years later and their fourth effort, “Romance,” became their first to chart in the United States, reaching No. 97 on the Billboard 200.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026

While in London, they released their first English-language single, TRALALA, which topped YouTube's daily music video chart on its release, ahead of videos from Shakira and Taylor Swift.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

He clicks the pen several times as he focuses on my chart.

From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day

"When we wrote this song, in the blazing month of August, we didn't even expect it to chart. But here we are, in a Mariah Carey and Wham! sandwich, and we're the filling. I'm stoked!"

From BBC ● Dec. 22, 2023

“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

“I saw on your chart. Why do you think you couldn’t sleep?”

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

AI demand is off the charts, but financing all the growth will be tough.

From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026

The critics tangle with Taylor Swift: The singer’s recent singles, including “Patient Zero,” have not, to put it mildly, been critical darlings, but they are holding steady on the charts.

From Slate ● Oct. 20, 2026

Some social media users have been sharing charts of Cloudflare data which show bot activity using Yandex's network has declined.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

Mr. Sorkin attempts to dramatize this discussion via heavy use of charts and repeated invocations of a figure: 64% of those who joined extremist groups on Facebook were directed there by the platform’s own algorithm.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

He creates his navigational charts, searching for meaning and direction to guide us to the trench and back again.

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman

The world's second-largest economy has charted a diverging path in recent years -- an AI-fuelled export boom is masking the impact of a persistent real estate crisis and gloomy consumer sentiment.

From Barron's ● Oct. 18, 2026

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

Total viewership hours of series that charted on Netflix’s top 10 lists in July and August were down 17% year over year, with third-quarter numbers on track for a sequential decline, the analysts say.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 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

I have charted out a one-mile loop that travels eight blocks south of the Gardens of Glenwood.

From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan

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

I’m charting my own course, and we’ll see where it leads me.

From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank

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