Graph

/ɡɹɑːf/ noun, verb

noun, verb ·Common ·High school level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: A data chart (graphical representation of data) intended to illustrate the relationship between a set (or sets) of numbers (quantities, measurements or indicative numbers) and a reference set, whose elements are indexed to those of the former set(s) and may or may not be numbers.
  • Grammar: graph is listed as noun, verb.
  • Nearest alternatives: chart, chart, abstract network, alphabetic character.
  • Useful contrasts: table display, ungraph data.
  • Usage evidence: The graph in Figure 1 illustrates the differences in the means of total scores for white and black subject in each grade.

How to use "graph"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "graph" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "graph" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "graph" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "graph" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "graph" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "chart" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "graph", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A data chart (graphical representation of data) intended to illustrate the relationship between a set (or sets) of numbers (quantities, measurements or indicative numbers) and a reference set, whose elements are indexed to those of the former set(s) and may or may not be numbers.

    "Drawings and pictures are more than mere ornaments in scientific discourse. Blackboard sketches, geological maps, diagrams of molecular structure, astronomical photographs, MRI images, the many varieties of statistical charts and graphs: These pictorial devices are indispensable tools for presenting evidence, for explaining a theory, for telling a story."

  2. 2
    a written symbol that is used to represent speech wordnet
  3. 3
    A set of points constituting a graphical representation of a real function; (formally) a set of tuples (x_1,x_2,…,x_m,y)∈ R ᵐ⁺¹, where y=f(x_1,x_2,…,x_m) for a given function f: R ᵐ→ R . See also Graph of a function on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

    "1969 [MIT Press], Thomas Walsh, Randell Magee (translators), I. M. Gelfand, E. G. Glagoleva, E. E. Shnol, Functions and Graphs, 2002, Dover, page 19, Let us take any point of the first graph, for example, x=1/2,y=4/5, that is, the point M_1(1/2,4/5)."

  4. 4
    a visual display of information wordnet
  5. 5
    A set of vertices (or nodes) connected together by edges; (formally) an ordered pair of sets (V,E), where the elements of V are called vertices or nodes and E is a set of pairs (called edges) of elements of V. See also Graph (discrete mathematics) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

    "1973, Edward Minieka (translator), Claude Berge, Graphs and Hypergraphs, Elsevier (North-Holland), [1970, Claude Berge, Graphes et Hypergraphes], page vii, Problems involving graphs first appeared in the mathematical folklore as puzzles (e.g. Königsberg bridge problem). Later, graphs appeared in electrical engineering (Kirchhof's Law), chemistry, psychology and economics before becoming a unified field of study."

Show 4 more definitions
  1. 6
    a visual representation of the relations between certain quantities, represented as points, plotted with reference to a set of axes wordnet
  2. 7
    A topological space which represents some graph (ordered pair of sets) and which is constructed by representing the vertices as points and the edges as copies of the real interval [0,1] (where, for any given edge, 0 and 1 are identified with the points representing the two vertices) and equipping the result with a particular topology called the graph topology.

    "2008, Unnamed translators (AMS), A. V. Alexeevski, S. M. Natanzon, Hurwitz Numbers for Regular Coverings of Surfaces by Seamed Surfaces and Cardy-Frobenius Algebras of Finite Groups, V. M. Buchstaber, I. M. Krichever (editors), Geometry, Topology, and Mathematical Physics: S.P. Novikov's Seminar, 2006-2007, American Mathematical Society, page 6, First, let us define its 1-dimensional analog, that is, a topological graph. A graph Δ is a 1-dimensional stratified topological space with finitely many 0-strata (vertices) and finitely many 1-strata (edges). […] A graph such that any vertex belongs to at least two half-edges we call an s-graph. Clearly the boundary ∂Ω of a surface Ω with marked points is an s-graph. A morphism of graphs φ:Δ'→Δ is a continuous epimorphic map of graphs compatible with the stratification; i.e., the restriction of φ to any open 1-stratum (interior of an edge) of Δ' is a local (therefore, global) homeomorphism with appropriate open 1-stratum of Δ."

  3. 8
    A morphism Γ_f from the domain of f to the product of the domain and codomain of f, such that the first projection applied to Γ_f equals the identity of the domain, and the second projection applied to Γ_f is equal to f.
  4. 9
    A graphical unit on the token-level, the abstracted fundamental shape of a character or letter as distinct from its ductus (realization in a particular typeface or handwriting on the instance-level) and as distinct by a grapheme on the type-level by not fundamentally distinguishing meaning.

    "A graph is a token-level nondistinctive representation of a grapheme. It can differ from the other variants of its grapheme with regard to upper case, lower case, script, print, typeface style, typeface size, etc."

Verb
  1. 1
    To draw a graph, to record graphically. transitive

    "When the doctor took the picture that was to be graphed onto Johnny’s balloon head, he suggested that Johnny make a normal face, without expressing any emotion. But Johnny didn’t like that idea. He’d rather look eternally cheerful than express nothing but apathy for the rest of his life."

  2. 2
    represent by means of a graph wordnet
  3. 3
    To draw a graph of a function. transitive
  4. 4
    plot upon a graph wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
chartchartabstract networkalphabetic characterblack and whiteblueprint

Antonyms

table displayungraph data

Example

"The graph in Figure 1 illustrates the differences in the means of total scores for white and black subject in each grade."

Common questions

What does "graph" mean?

A data chart (graphical representation of data) intended to illustrate the relationship between a set (or sets) of numbers (quantities, measurements or indicative numbers) and a reference set, whose elements are indexed to those of the former set(s) and may or may not be numbers.

What is a synonym for "graph"?

Common synonyms include: chart, chart, abstract network, alphabetic character, black and white, blueprint.

How do you use "graph" in a sentence?

The graph in Figure 1 illustrates the differences in the means of total scores for white and black subject in each grade.

How do you pronounce "graph"?

Pronounced /ɡɹɑːf/.

Etymology

Clipping of graphic formula. From 1878; verb from 1889.

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