VocabauraVOCABAURA

charter

noun · verb · adjective

Simple meaning

A document incorporating an institution and specifying its rights.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

chahrter

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈtʃɑɹtɚ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A document incorporating an institution and specifying its rights; includes the articles of incorporation and the certificate of incorporation

  2. A document issued by some authority, creating a public or private institution, and defining its purposes and privileges.

  3. A similar document conferring rights and privileges on a person, corporation etc.

  4. The temporary hiring or leasing of a vehicle.

  5. A contract for the commercial leasing of a vessel, or space on a vessel.

  6. A special privilege, immunity, or exemption.

verb

  1. transitive

    To grant or establish a charter.

  2. transitive

    To lease or hire something by charter.

adjective

  1. Leased or hired.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A document incorporating an institution and specifying its rights; includes the articles of incorporation and the certificate of incorporation

Used this way, charter is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

Share your sentence

Write your own example sentence using “charter”. We review each one before it appears.

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

charter membercharter schoolbank charternew chartercity charterpresent charter

Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • chartnounBase word

    A visual display of information.

  • charteredadjectiveInflected form

    Hired for the exclusive temporary use of a group of travelers.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • charter schoolnounCompound term

    An experimental public school for kindergarten through grade 12.

  • charter membernounCompound term

    One of the original members when an organization was founded.

  • chartered accountantnounCompound term

    A British or Canadian accountant who is a member of a professional body that has a royal charter.

  • royal charternounCompound term

    A charter granted by the sovereign (especially in Great Britain).

  • the great charternounCompound term

    The royal charter of political rights given to rebellious English barons by King John in 1215.

  • bank charternounCompound term

    A charter authorizing the operation of a bank.

Use This Word

See how this word sounds in a real sentence.

Ask Vocabaura

Understand the word your way.

What Does It Mean Here?

Words can change meaning depending on context.

Use it yourself

Knowing “charter” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.

Know the meaning? Practice using it in a real situation, free, no credits.

Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.