charter

char·ter | \ ˈchär-tər

How to pronounce charter (audio)

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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 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.

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

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

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

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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 The release of the charter comes a day before Facebook will join its peers from Google and Twitter at a hearing on Capitol Hill to probe how social media contributes to real-world violence. — Washington Post, "Facebook unveils charter for its ‘Supreme Court,’ where users can go to contest the company’s decisions," 17 Sep. 2019 And Facebook will have no ability to fire board members, said Heather Moore, a member of the Facebook team developing the charter. — Brian Fung, CNN, "Facebook will soon announce the first members of its oversight board," 17 Sep. 2019 Each hearing requires a major movement of people and materials from the United States to the base on passenger planes the Pentagon charters for $80,000 one way. — New York Times, "The Cost of Running Guantánamo Bay: $13 Million Per Prisoner," 16 Sep. 2019 Oceanside’s city charter does not state whether the mayor and council members are full time or part time, according to an analysis by the city attorney. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Council salaries, term limits on the table in Oceanside," 15 Sep. 2019 The charter is silent, Correia said, on removing a mayor who’s merely been accused of a crime. — BostonGlobe.com, "Fall River Mayor Jasiel F. Correia II insisted Wednesday that he has no plans to step down, despite a federal indictment for allegedly extorting marijuana vendors and other crimes and a," 12 Sep. 2019 With the charter in place, Superbia will form a board and begin hiring executives. — Jeff Green, Fortune, "First Gay Credit Union Given Green Light to Prioritize LGBTQ Customers," 9 Sep. 2019 The charter is enrolling only transitional kindergarten through fifth grade for the first year but hopes to expand through eighth grade. — Priscella Vega, Daily Pilot, "ISSAC charter school debuts in Costa Mesa," 3 Sep. 2019 Under the city charter, a summary judicial inquiry allows city officials to be questioned under penalty of perjury about matters of alleged official misconduct. — CBS News, "Eric Garner's family seeks testimony of Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2014 chokehold death," 28 Aug. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb These putative rivals for the GSEs would be chartered and overseen by the FHFA. — The Economist, "Steven Mnuchin begins reforming America’s giant mortgage-guarantee firms," 14 Sep. 2019 Trips are usually chartered through dive shops and spread through word of mouth. — Gregory Thomas, SFChronicle.com, "After fire, divers worry that burst of regulations will restrain free-spirited sport," 10 Sep. 2019 Jenner, 22, chartered the mega-yacht Tranquility for her birthday weekend, inviting along family members and several of her close friends. — Ashley Boucher, PEOPLE.com, "Sofia Richie Poses in Black Thong Bikini As Kylie Jenner's Birthday Celebration Moves on to France," 14 Aug. 2019 The probe was chartered to uncover what happened in 2016. — Dallas News, "Letters - Misled or forewarned? Readers give their take on the Mueller hearing," 4 Aug. 2019 DeGeneres is no doubt referring to the wave of criticism Meghan Markle and Prince Harry received last week for chartering a private jet on their vacation, which some view as contradicting their stance on environmentalism. — Christopher Rosa, Glamour, "Ellen DeGeneres Has a Sweet Story About Her Visit With Meghan, Harry, and Baby Archie," 9 Sep. 2019 And no expense was spared for the lavish bash itself, as the Kylie Cosmetics mogul chartered the mega yacht Tranquility to ring in her birthday on Aug. 10 with family and friends. — Jen Juneau, PEOPLE.com, "Great Scott! Kylie Jenner's Daughter Stormi Bonds with Disick During Mom's Italian Birthday Trip," 30 Aug. 2019 Rides start at $49.95 for 90 minutes, or charter the boat for a private tour starting at $275. — Roger Naylor, azcentral, "Floating tiki bar, haunted pub crawl: 10 places for end-of-summer road trips in Arizona," 14 Aug. 2019 In July, parties to an international organization chartered to oversee such mining moved closer to their goal of approving regulations by the end of 2020. — Adam Minter, Twin Cities, "Adam Minter: Big Tech needs to save the deep seas," 11 Aug. 2019 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.

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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

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

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

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

charter

transitive verb

Legal Definition of charter (Entry 2 of 2)

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

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