charter

1 of 3

noun

char·​ter ˈchär-tər How to pronounce charter (audio)
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
7
: 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.

charter

2 of 3

verb

chartered; chartering; charters

transitive verb

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
charterer noun

charter

3 of 3

adjective

: 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
Choose the Right Synonym for charter

hire, let, lease, rent, charter mean to engage or grant for use at a price.

hire and let, strictly speaking, are complementary terms, hire implying the act of engaging or taking for use and let the granting of use.

we hired a car for the summer
decided to let the cottage to a young couple

lease strictly implies a letting under the terms of a contract but is often applied to hiring on a lease.

the diplomat leased an apartment for a year

rent stresses the payment of money for the full use of property and may imply either hiring or letting.

instead of buying a house, they decided to rent
will not rent to families with children

charter applies to the hiring or letting of a vehicle usually for exclusive use.

charter a bus to go to the game

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 Web
Noun
Ko Olina Marina For all things fun on the water, head to Ko Olina Marina, a state-of-the-art marina that offers everything from sunset catamaran sailings and boat charters to snorkeling and dolphin watching. Carly Caramanna, Travel + Leisure, 15 Mar. 2024 Democratic California Assembly Member Jesse Gabriel wants to amend the rules so that all schools – public, charter or a state special school – cannot sell or provide foods with blue 1, blue 2, green 3, red 40, titanium dioxide, yellow 5 and yellow 6. Caitlin O'Kane, CBS News, 14 Mar. 2024 More local Arizona news:Litchfield Park voters to decide charter city question The second improvement was to create a berm, or level strip of land, along portions of the parcels’ boundaries. Shawn Raymundo, The Arizona Republic, 13 Mar. 2024 The charter amendment bars the city from flying anything on city property but the city flag, the Orange County flag, the state of California flag and the American flag as well as some military flags and the Olympic flag. Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2024 The city charter requires the police chief to be selected from within. Jennifer Edwards Baker, The Enquirer, 6 Mar. 2024 The task force will meet approximately weekly, according to a charter prepared for the group. Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Mar. 2024 The specialized nature of the CFA® designation often commands high salaries, with compensation packages reflecting the charter holder’s expertise in investment strategies and financial analysis. Bryce Welker, Miami Herald, 3 Mar. 2024 Under the new rules, election officials would have 30 days to verify recall petition signatures, rather than 10 days under the current charter. Will McCarthy, The Mercury News, 6 Mar. 2024
Verb
This week, the U.S. State Department also began chartering helicopter flights to carry American citizens from Port-au-Prince to Santo Domingo in the neighboring Dominican Republic. Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 23 Mar. 2024 You were chartered by the government during the Great Depression. Fortune Editors, Fortune, 20 Mar. 2024 However, when chartering, the professional poker player and influencer Dan Bilzerian decided to take water stunts up a notch or two and wake-surf behind the yacht itself. Gemma Harris, Robb Report, 8 Mar. 2024 The company has been chartering folks across the Santa Barbara Channel and to the islands since 1968, and today, day-trippers can buy round-trip boat tickets for roughly $45 to $63. Chelsee Lowe, Travel + Leisure, 25 Feb. 2024 Nor will Trump or the Trump Organization be allowed to borrow money from financial institutions chartered or registered in New York State for three years. Jeanne Sahadi, CNN, 17 Feb. 2024 About Launch Credit Union Officially chartered in April 1963, Launch Credit Union has been delivering quality financial products and exceptional service to its members for over 60 years. Andrew Turner, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Jan. 2024 The offering takes a hands-on approach and can charter your yacht, find your kid a nanny, or source your favorite chocolate via a 24/7 WhatsApp service. Anna Kim, Robb Report, 22 Feb. 2024 Alternatively, members who fly commercial most of the time may charter a private plane for short and medium range flights to smaller airports or for a special occasion. Rana Good, Forbes, 13 Feb. 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.

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle English chartre, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin chartula, from Latin, diminutive of charta — see chart entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2a

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

1920, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of charter was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near charter

Cite this Entry

“Charter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/charter. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

charter

1 of 3 noun
char·​ter ˈchärt-ər How to pronounce charter (audio)
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 verb
1
: to grant a charter to
2
: to hire (as a ship or a bus) for temporary use
charterer noun

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

Legal Definition

charter

1 of 2 noun
char·​ter
1
a
: a grant or guarantee of rights, powers, or privileges from an authority or agency of a state or country
a state bank charter
compare constitution
b
: a written instrument that creates and defines the powers and privileges of a city, educational institution, or corporation compare articles of incorporation
2
: a written instrument from the authorities of a society creating a lodge, branch, or chapter
3
: a lease of a ship especially for the delivery of cargo

called also charter party

charter

2 of 2 transitive verb
1
: to establish, enable, or convey by charter
charter a bank
2
: to lease or hire for usually exclusive and temporary use
charter a ship
Etymology

Noun

Old French chartre letter, formal document, from Late Latin chartula, from Latin, diminutive of charta sheet of papyrus

More from Merriam-Webster on charter

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