1
: a written instrument (see instrument entry 1 sense 5) or contract (such as a deed) executed in due form
2
a
: a grant or guarantee of rights, franchises, or privileges from the sovereign power of a state or country
The charter allows for unrestricted trading.
b
: a written instrument that creates and defines the franchises (see franchise entry 1 sense 1) of a city, educational institution, or corporation
a city charter
a corporate charter
c
: constitution
the Charter of the United Nations
3
: a written instrument from the authorities of a society creating a lodge or branch
The national headquarters approved the charter establishing the local lodge.
4
: a special privilege, immunity, or exemption
5
: a mercantile lease of a ship or some principal part of it
In the charter the ship's owner agreed to transport specified cargo to a specified port.
6
a
: a charter travel arrangement
An agent handled the charter providing aircraft travel to and from the tournament.
b
: a chartered plane, bus, etc.
Their charter had just landed at Toronto's Pearson International Airport and … everyone in the Mariners' traveling party had to slog through a tedious customs check and then claim his own luggage.—
Jeff Pearlman
Jeff Pearlman7
: charter school
He pushed for the closure of Chicago's worst schools … and opened dozens of new schools, many of them charters.—Amanda Paulson et al.
Amanda Paulson et al.
chartered; chartering; charters
1
a
: to establish, enable, or convey by charter
The city was chartered in 1837.
b
British
: certify
a chartered mechanical engineer
2
: to hire, rent, or lease for usually exclusive and temporary use
chartered a boat for deep-sea fishing
: of, relating to, or being a travel arrangement in which transportation (such as a bus or plane) is hired by and for one specific group of people
a charter flight
Synonyms
Examples of charter in a Sentence
Noun
The charter allows for unrestricted trading.
Verb
The city was chartered in 1837.
The team chartered a plane.
Recent Examples on the WebAnnika Bahnsen, Orange County Register, 14 Apr. 2024
In a letter earlier this year to Michigan lawmakers on legislative priorities, Rice said parents should be able to choose from among public (including charter), private, parochial, and home schools.
—Allison Torres Burtka and Hannah Dellinger, Detroit Free Press, 5 Apr. 2024
There will be a free Flow Yoga class in the breezeway at 2 p.m. Donations will be accepted at the event for The Flower Fields Foundation, which offers educational and enrichment programs for kids in schools, Scouts and charter/academy programs.
—Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Apr. 2024
To mark the moment, NATO shipped in its founding charter, the Washington Treaty, from its home in the United States.
—John Hudson, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024
In the world of high-end charters, heritage yachts are exerting a bigger pull than ever, like the elegant 1967 yacht Malcolm Miller, restored and available by the week through Arthaud Yachting.
—Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 Apr. 2024
Snorkel John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park with a private snorkeling charter to explore under the sea.
—Caroline Rogers, Southern Living, 2 Apr. 2024
This year 45 charters are seeking space, per the charter association, down significantly from a peak of more than 100.
—Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 3 Apr. 2024
As part of the January ruling, the charter court ordered Move Forward to stop all attempts to revise the royal insult law, which protects the monarchy from defamation and carries up to 15 years in prison for each offense.
—TIME, 3 Apr. 2024
Ed Silverman, STAT, 12 Apr. 2024
John Spahi’s criminal trial has yet to be scheduled, but late last year, some of Ocean Towers’ older residents chartered a bus downtown to sit in on a hearing in the case.
—James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
The vessel can be privately chartered for week-long voyages or booked on a per-cabin basis on select itineraries.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 10 Apr. 2024
Tourists, families, and competitive anglers alike can charter deep-sea fishing boats to spend a day in the middle of wide open, deep, blue water.
—Jp Shaffer, Miami Herald, 4 Apr. 2024
On Tuesday, the Dali was carrying the cargo of Maersk, the major shipping company that chartered it.
—Christopher Cann, USA TODAY, 28 Mar. 2024
In response to the growing urgency of the requests, the State Department began chartering private helicopters last month to help evacuate Americans from Port-au-Prince into neighboring Dominican Republic.
—Char Adams, NBC News, 3 Apr. 2024
It is owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd. and was chartered by Danish shipping giant Maersk.
—Lea Skene and Brian Witte, Quartz, 29 Mar. 2024
The ship was chartered to carry cargo by Danish shipping giant Maersk and was leaving the Baltimore area at the time of the crash.
—Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN, 28 Mar. 2024
The Editorial Board, WSJ, 24 Oct. 2022
At the time, billionaires Mike Bloomberg and the late Eli Broad spent tens of millions of dollars promoting charter schools nationally, including large sums in Oakland to support charter schools and to ensure pro-charter candidates were elected to the board.
—Scott Wilson, Washington Post, 18 Sep. 2022
New York New York: Some 51,000 more New York City students will return to in-person schooling later this month, bringing the total number of students in school buildings to 365,000 out of 960,000 non-charter public school students, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday.
—From Usa Today Network and Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 13 Apr. 2021
At the time, billionaires Mike Bloomberg and the late Eli Broad spent tens of millions of dollars promoting charter schools nationally, including large sums in Oakland to support charter schools and to ensure pro-charter candidates were elected to the board.
—Scott Wilson, Washington Post, 18 Sep. 2022
Commercial service to Canouan, though, is spottier than ever: American Eagle no longer flies to the island, so non-charter guests are limited to scouring for seats on one of the regional airlines, such as Grenadine Air, which aren’t even loaded into most travel databases.
—Mark Ellwood, Robb Report, 26 Mar. 2022
However, on a national level, one major pro-charter school Democratic group and a billionaire pro-charter campaign funder appear to be financing the groundwork for Ellison’s campaign — even though both Ellison and Romero support charter schools.
—Kaylee Poche, NOLA.com, 24 Nov. 2020
The teacher group also criticized Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and a member of Walmart’s Walton family for large donations to pro-charter PACs.
—Dallas News, 25 Feb. 2022
There has, however, been a lot of scrutiny over how celebs choose to travel since so many of them charter private jets even for short distances.
—Aimée Lutkin, ELLE, 5 Sep. 2022
Noun
There, through a charter academic program, students of any grade level can study independently and train extensively for their respective sports.
—Annika Bahnsen, Orange County Register, 14 Apr. 2024
In a letter earlier this year to Michigan lawmakers on legislative priorities, Rice said parents should be able to choose from among public (including charter), private, parochial, and home schools.
—Allison Torres Burtka and Hannah Dellinger, Detroit Free Press, 5 Apr. 2024
There will be a free Flow Yoga class in the breezeway at 2 p.m. Donations will be accepted at the event for The Flower Fields Foundation, which offers educational and enrichment programs for kids in schools, Scouts and charter/academy programs.
—Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Apr. 2024
To mark the moment, NATO shipped in its founding charter, the Washington Treaty, from its home in the United States.
—John Hudson, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024
In the world of high-end charters, heritage yachts are exerting a bigger pull than ever, like the elegant 1967 yacht Malcolm Miller, restored and available by the week through Arthaud Yachting.
—Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 Apr. 2024
Snorkel John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park with a private snorkeling charter to explore under the sea.
—Caroline Rogers, Southern Living, 2 Apr. 2024
This year 45 charters are seeking space, per the charter association, down significantly from a peak of more than 100.
—Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 3 Apr. 2024
As part of the January ruling, the charter court ordered Move Forward to stop all attempts to revise the royal insult law, which protects the monarchy from defamation and carries up to 15 years in prison for each offense.
—TIME, 3 Apr. 2024
Verb
In response to controversy, a group of Colorado lawmakers is abandoning a bill that would have required a new state board — which is chartered with setting caps for the cost of medicines — to create exemptions for rare disease drugs.
—Ed Silverman, STAT, 12 Apr. 2024
John Spahi’s criminal trial has yet to be scheduled, but late last year, some of Ocean Towers’ older residents chartered a bus downtown to sit in on a hearing in the case.
—James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
The vessel can be privately chartered for week-long voyages or booked on a per-cabin basis on select itineraries.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 10 Apr. 2024
Tourists, families, and competitive anglers alike can charter deep-sea fishing boats to spend a day in the middle of wide open, deep, blue water.
—Jp Shaffer, Miami Herald, 4 Apr. 2024
On Tuesday, the Dali was carrying the cargo of Maersk, the major shipping company that chartered it.
—Christopher Cann, USA TODAY, 28 Mar. 2024
In response to the growing urgency of the requests, the State Department began chartering private helicopters last month to help evacuate Americans from Port-au-Prince into neighboring Dominican Republic.
—Char Adams, NBC News, 3 Apr. 2024
It is owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd. and was chartered by Danish shipping giant Maersk.
—Lea Skene and Brian Witte, Quartz, 29 Mar. 2024
The ship was chartered to carry cargo by Danish shipping giant Maersk and was leaving the Baltimore area at the time of the crash.
—Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN, 28 Mar. 2024
Adjective
Charter school performance was uneven, but in at least 11 states charter fourth graders outperformed their non-charter counterparts in math in 2022, including in Alaska (+16 points), Nevada (+12 points) and North Carolina (+21 points).
—The Editorial Board, WSJ, 24 Oct. 2022
At the time, billionaires Mike Bloomberg and the late Eli Broad spent tens of millions of dollars promoting charter schools nationally, including large sums in Oakland to support charter schools and to ensure pro-charter candidates were elected to the board.
—Scott Wilson, Washington Post, 18 Sep. 2022
New York New York: Some 51,000 more New York City students will return to in-person schooling later this month, bringing the total number of students in school buildings to 365,000 out of 960,000 non-charter public school students, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday.
—From Usa Today Network and Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 13 Apr. 2021
At the time, billionaires Mike Bloomberg and the late Eli Broad spent tens of millions of dollars promoting charter schools nationally, including large sums in Oakland to support charter schools and to ensure pro-charter candidates were elected to the board.
—Scott Wilson, Washington Post, 18 Sep. 2022
Commercial service to Canouan, though, is spottier than ever: American Eagle no longer flies to the island, so non-charter guests are limited to scouring for seats on one of the regional airlines, such as Grenadine Air, which aren’t even loaded into most travel databases.
—Mark Ellwood, Robb Report, 26 Mar. 2022
However, on a national level, one major pro-charter school Democratic group and a billionaire pro-charter campaign funder appear to be financing the groundwork for Ellison’s campaign — even though both Ellison and Romero support charter schools.
—Kaylee Poche, NOLA.com, 24 Nov. 2020
The teacher group also criticized Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and a member of Walmart’s Walton family for large donations to pro-charter PACs.
—Dallas News, 25 Feb. 2022
There has, however, been a lot of scrutiny over how celebs choose to travel since so many of them charter private jets even for short distances.
—Aimée Lutkin, ELLE, 5 Sep. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'charter.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Charter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/charter. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
charter
1 of 3 noun
char·ter
ˈchärt-ər 
1
: an official document granting, guaranteeing, or showing the limits of the rights and duties of the group to which it is given
2
: a contract by which owners of a ship lease it to others
3
: a charter travel arrangement
charter
2 of 3 verb1
: to grant a charter to
2
: to hire (as a ship or a bus) for temporary use
charter
3 of 3 adjective
: of, relating to, or being a travel arrangement in which transportation (as a bus or plane) is hired by and for a specific group of people
a charter flight
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