I. chart 1 S3 W3 AC /tʃɑːt $ tʃɑːrt/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Language: French ; Origin: charte , from Latin charta 'piece of papyrus, document' , from Greek chartes ]
1 . information that is clearly arranged in the form of a simple picture, set of figures, ↑ graph etc, or a piece of paper with this information on it SYN diagram :
a chart showing last year’s sales
a weather chart
the theatre’s seating chart
⇨ ↑ bar chart , ↑ flow chart , ↑ pie chart
2 . the charts the lists, which come out weekly, of the most popular records:
Her new single went straight to number one in the pop charts.
Brooks again topped the charts (=was the most popular) .
chart hit/success/star etc
the Beatles’ first chart hit
3 . a detailed map, especially of an area of the sea or the stars
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 2)
■ types of charts
▪ the pop charts
Their new single went straight to number 1 in the pop charts.
▪ the singles charts (=of CDs that have only one song on them)
The song reached number 9 in the singles charts.
▪ the album charts (=of CDs that have several songs on them)
This put Marley into the album charts for the first time.
▪ the indie charts (=of music produced by small independent record companies)
The song went straight to the top of the indie charts.
■ verbs
▪ be in the charts
The song was in the charts for weeks.
▪ go into/enter the charts
The album entered the UK charts at number 2.
▪ hit the charts (=enter the charts)
The group eventually hit the charts.
▪ top the charts/be top of the charts
‘Without You’ topped the British charts for five weeks.
■ chart + NOUN
▪ a chart hit (=a song or album in the charts)
At last the band had got a chart hit.
▪ chart success
It looks like they are set for chart success.
■ phrases
▪ number 1/5/15 etc in the charts
In 1962 'Love Me Do' reached only number 17 in the charts.
II. chart 2 AC BrE AmE verb
1 . [transitive] to record information about a situation or set of events over a period of time, in order to see how it changes or develops:
Scientists have been charting temperature changes in the oceans.
2 . [transitive] to make a plan of what should be done to achieve a particular result:
Each team was responsible for making its own decisions and charting its own course.
3 . [transitive] to make a map of an area of land, sea, or stars, or to draw lines on a map to show where you have travelled ⇨ uncharted
4 . [intransitive] if a record charts, it enters the weekly list of the most popular records:
Their next single didn’t chart.