What does chart mean?
A chart is a visual tool for presenting information, most commonly a graph, diagram, or table that makes data easier to understand at a glance. Bar charts, pie charts, line graphs, and flow charts each organise information in a different way, helping readers spot patterns, comparisons, and trends that raw numbers alone would obscure. The word also has an older, more literal meaning: a nautical or aeronautical map showing coastlines, water depths, or flight paths, used by sailors and pilots to navigate safely. As a verb, to chart something means to plot it on such a display, to track its progress over time, or, more figuratively, to plan a course of action — as in 'charting a path forward'. In British English, 'the charts' commonly refers to weekly music popularity rankings. The word conveys clarity, organisation, and careful planning, making it indispensable in business, science, education, and navigation alike.
A sheet of information in the form of a diagram, graph, or table; also, a map used in navigation.
"She drew a pie chart to show how the budget was divided."
Plural: charts.
To represent, record, or track information on a chart; to plan a route or course of action; (of a record) to enter a music popularity chart.
"The expedition charted the previously unmapped coastline."
Standard plural; 'the charts' in British English often specifically means music popularity rankings.
"All the charts in the report were updated with last year's figures."
Every time you read a pie chart, you're using a word borrowed from sea maps — 'chart' originally meant a nautical map drawn for sailors navigating unfamiliar coasts.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of chart
The word 'chart' entered English in the sixteenth century from French 'charte', meaning a map or card, which itself derives from Latin 'charta', meaning a leaf of paper or parchment. The Latin term traces further back to Greek 'khartēs', referring to a sheet of papyrus. This same root gave English several related words, including 'card', 'charter', and, via later borrowings, 'cartography'. Over time the meaning narrowed from any paper document to specifically a map used at sea, then broadened again in the modern era to cover diagrams of data of every kind.
Related word forms
How chart is actually used
In British English, 'chart' often refers specifically to music popularity listings ('the charts'), a sense less prominent in American usage, where 'the Billboard charts' is more common. As a verb, 'chart' carries a slightly formal or professional tone in business and scientific writing.
Easily confused with chart
A chord is a group of musical notes sounded together, while a chart is a diagram showing data — the words merely look and sound somewhat similar.
A cart is a wheeled vehicle used for carrying loads, whereas a chart is a diagram or map; they differ by only one letter but are unrelated in meaning.