charter

noun

char·ter | \ ˈchär-tər

Definition of charter

(Entry 1 of 3)

1 : a written instrument (see instrument entry 1 sense 4) or contract (such as a deed) executed in due form

2a : 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 2) 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.

6a : 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

verb

chartered; chartering; charters

Definition of charter (Entry 2 of 3)

transitive verb

1a : 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

charter

adjective

Definition of charter (Entry 3 of 3)

: 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

Other Words from charter Synonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about charter

Keep scrolling for more

Synonyms for charter

Synonyms: Verb

engage, hire, lease, rent

Choose the Right Synonym for charter

Verb

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

But the judges did warn that using such intelligence sharing to bypass restrictions on surveillance of a member state's own citizens would be a violation of the charter. — Sean Gallagher, Ars Technica, "“Bulk interception” by GCHQ (and NSA) violated human rights charter, European court rules," 13 Sep. 2018 All six present called for more financial transparency of charters. — Ricardo Cano, azcentral, "Arizona superintendent candidates: Charters need more financial oversight," 12 July 2018 Some interpretations of the city charter were that Fisher could have remained mayor until his County Commission election was certain, but that could have meant having a special election. — Anne Geggis, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Pompano Beach mayor's seat is up for grabs as Election Day nears," 5 June 2018 Before the crisis the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) approved hundreds of bank charters each year. — The Economist, "The number of new banks in America has fallen off a cliff," 31 May 2018 Critics of the 1947 charter say it was imposed by the U.S. occupation after Japan's World War II defeat. — Fox News, "Japan PM seeks public support for revision to constitution," 1 May 2018 Lists of charters compiled by Bloomberg show the cost of recent U.S. Gulf of Mexico bookings to Asia would work out at about $1.50 to $2 a barrel, depending on where in the continent the ships go. — Alaric Nightingale, Bloomberg.com, "Texas City Hosts First Supertanker as U.S. Crude Gushes Out," 27 Apr. 2018 Lists of charters compiled by Bloomberg show the cost of recent U.S. Gulf of Mexico bookings to Asia would work out at about $1.50 to $2 a barrel, depending on where in the continent the ships go. — Alaric Nightingale, Houston Chronicle, "Texas City hosts first Supertanker as U.S. crude gushes," 27 Apr. 2018 After the Civil War, Reconstruction’s overhaul of the founding charter also rewrote the balance of power in favor of federal protections. — Matt Ford, The New Republic, "Will the Supreme Court Rein in Civil Forfeiture?," 17 Apr. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

In the final stage of the negotiation, MPS demanded that Rocketship, which is chartered by the city, obtain a charter from MPS instead. — Cori Petersen, WSJ, "This Building Is for Sale (but Not to a Charter School)," 9 Nov. 2018 Records show that two private jets chartered by a Saudi company with close ties to the Saudi crown prince and interior ministry arrived and left Istanbul on the day of Khashoggi’s disappearance. — David Botti, The Seattle Times, "Suspects in Khashoggi case had ties to Saudi crown prince," 16 Oct. 2018 These are the scenes aboard the Aquarius, a humanitarian ship chartered by the SOS Méditerranée, an aid group working with Doctors Without Borders. — Megan Specia, New York Times, "Aboard the Rescue Ship Where Migrants Have Been Stuck for a Week," 15 June 2018 Hill tracks his partner to the Siberian city of Mirny, chartering a private jet to the remote gem-mining outpost in hopes of locating Pyotr and recovering the missing samples. — Justin Lowe, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Siberia': Film Review," 13 July 2018 Click&Boat has started a separate site, Click&Yacht, for chartering luxury craft for thousands of euros a day in places like the Côte d’Azur, for which there is plenty of international demand. — The Economist, "Yacht-sharing startups vie to rule the waves," 21 June 2018 The company claims that the famous crew chartered a flight and left a $225,353.80 tab unpaid. — Page Six, "Kim, Khloé and Scott Disick sued over private jet bill," 15 May 2018 Changes to Hungary’s higher education law in 2017 were seen as mainly targeting CEU, which is chartered in New York State but did not conduct educational activities there, one of the new requirements. — Pablo Gorondi, The Seattle Times, "Soros-backed university in Hungary partly moving to Vienna," 25 Oct. 2018 That would limit the law’s application to just 72 corporations headquartered and chartered in California. — Emily Stewart, Vox, "California just passed a law requiring more women on boards. It matters, even if it fails.," 3 Oct. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

The report said none of the charter flights complied. — NBC News, "Watchdog: $341,000 wasted on travel for former high-flying HHS chief Tom Price," 13 July 2018 Justifications for using charter flights were sometimes flimsy, the report concluded. — Louise Radnofsky, WSJ, "HHS Watchdog Pushes to Recoup $341,000 Wasted by Ex-Secretary Price on Travel," 13 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'charter.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about charter

Dictionary Entries near charter

Statistics for charter

Last Updated

13 Feb 2019

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for charter

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

See more words from the same century

Keep scrolling for more

More Definitions for charter

charter

noun

English Language Learners Definition of charter

(Entry 1 of 3)

: a document issued by a government that gives rights to a person or group

: a document which declares that a city, town, school, or corporation has been established

: a document that describes the basic laws, principles, etc., of a group

charter

verb

English Language Learners Definition of charter (Entry 2 of 3)

: to give a charter to (a government, corporation, etc.)

: to hire (a ship, bus, etc.) for temporary use

charter

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of charter (Entry 3 of 3)

: hired for temporary use

See the full definition for charter in the English Language Learners Dictionary

charter

noun

char·ter | \ ˈchär-tər

Kids Definition of charter

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : an official document setting out the rights and duties of a group The charter grants broad trading rights.

2 : a document which declares that a city, town, school, or corporation has been established

3 : a document that describes the basic laws or principles of a group the charity's charter

charter

verb

chartered; chartering

Kids Definition of charter (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : to grant a charter to The city was chartered in 1853.

2 : to hire (as a bus or an aircraft) for temporary use The team chartered a plane.

charter

noun

char·ter

Legal Definition of charter

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : 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