charts

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of chart.

   The navigator spread several charts across the table to plan the route.

   Her presentation included three charts comparing sales over the year.

   Note

   A regular plural that carries every meaning the noun has: a navigator's sea maps, tables and graphs in a report, diagrams, and the records a hospital keeps on each patient. Context does the sorting. Charts spread across a ship's table are maps, charts on a hospital ward are patients' records, and charts in a slide presentation are usually graphs or diagrams.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of chart.

   The biologist charts the migration of each tagged whale through the season.

   This dashboard charts daily temperatures across all the monitored stations.

   Note

   The verb form shares its spelling with the plural noun, so only the sentence tells them apart: she charts the coast, but the charts are on deck. Nearly every use takes an object, such as a route, a trend or a patient's medical details. Music is the exception. A song simply charts when it reaches a hit-recording chart, with nothing after the verb.

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