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

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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 antibank forces continued to pound away, and its charter was allowed to expire in 1811. — Justin Lahart, WSJ, "Hating the Fed Is as American as Apple Pie," 21 June 2019 Plus, not all governments could lawfully pay an extortion fee, depending on their own legal charters. — The Washington Post, The Mercury News, "Florida city will pay hackers $600K to get computer system back," 20 June 2019 Sullivan is Braintree’s first and only mayor since the community changed its charter to the mayoral/town council form of government. — Johanna Seltz, BostonGlobe.com, "Four take out papers to run for Braintree mayor," 18 June 2019 The association plans to have 28 members at its outset to develop its charter, but the intention is to increase membership to 100 or so organizations. — Matthew De Silva, Quartz, "Behold Libra, the global cryptocurrency masterminded by Facebook," 18 June 2019 The upcoming seventh season will follow their charters in Thailand. — Johnny Diaz, sun-sentinel.com, "Do you want to spend six nights with ‘Below Deck’ captain Lee Rosbach and Kate Chastain?," 3 June 2019 All except Barrett had previously caught fish on a Lake Michigan charter. — Paul A. Smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Smith: Lake Michigan charter outing provides fresh fish and perspectives," 15 June 2019 Of course there’d be a team charter where players travel in the lap of luxury before and after games. — The Mmqb Staff, SI.com, "If You Could Start an NFL Team With One non-Quarterback, Who Would You Pick?," 14 June 2019 Salaries for teachers in charter and private schools in the NYC metro area can be less. — USA Today, "'Can't pay their bills with love': For many teaching jobs, teachers' pay can't cover rent," 5 June 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

President George Washington sided with Mr. Hamilton, and the bank was chartered in 1791. — Justin Lahart, WSJ, "Hating the Fed Is as American as Apple Pie," 21 June 2019 Early reports from the ship’s chartering company indicate that Kokuka Courageous may have been the victim of a torpedo attack or mine and was attacked twice over a 3-hour period, resulting in a hole in the starboard hull above the waterline. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "Two Oil Tankers Attacked in the Middle East, U.S. Destroyer Rescues Crew," 13 June 2019 The feud comes amid an investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, into the tax-exempt status of the organization, which is chartered in New York. — oregonlive.com, "NRA money flowed to board members amid allegedly lavish spending by top officials and vendors," 10 June 2019 The feud comes amid an investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, into the tax-exempt status of the organization, which is chartered in New York. — The Washington Post, The Mercury News, "NRA money flowed to board members amid allegedly lavish spending by officials, vendors," 10 June 2019 The feud comes amid an investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, into the tax-exempt status of the organization, which is chartered in New York. — Anchorage Daily News, "NRA money flowed to board members amid allegedly lavish spending by officials, vendors," 10 June 2019 The boat had been chartered by Chris Giuffre, 53; his son, Chris Giuffre Jr., 23; and their friends Lopeparo, 35, along with Lopeparo's brother, Jason Rialmo, 39, and his son, Jason Rialmo Jr., 15. — Elisha Fieldstadt, NBC News, "Florida charter boat captain accused of drinking, doing drugs, firing gun, threatening passengers," 5 June 2019 The club created to run it was chartered with one condition: monthly dances. — Molly Hennessy-fiske, latimes.com, "Texas once had 1,000 dance halls. Now there’s a rush to save those that remain," 4 June 2019 Some credit unions and small banks that are chartered by their state, not the federal government, have tried to fill the void by offering basic banking services to the cannabis industry. — Julie Weed, New York Times, "Bags of Cash and Stealthy Deliveries: How Pot Start-Ups Pay Taxes," 18 May 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.

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Dictionary Entries near charter

Statistics for charter

Last Updated

3 Jul 2019

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for charter

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

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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

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