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Charles

American  
[chahrlz, sharl] / tʃɑrlz, ʃarl /

noun

  1. Jacques Alexandre César 1746–1823, French physicist and inventor.

  2. Ray Ray Charles Robinson, 1930–2004, U.S. blues singer and pianist.

  3. Cape, a cape in E Virginia, N of the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay.

  4. a river in E Massachusetts, flowing between Boston and Cambridge into the Atlantic. 47 miles (75 km) long.

  5. a male given name: from a Germanic word meaning “man.”

Charles British  
/ tʃɑːlz /

noun

  1. Prince of Wales. born 1948, son of Elizabeth II; heir apparent to the throne of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. He married (1981) Lady Diana Spencer; they separated in 1992 and were divorced in 1996; their son, Prince William of Wales, was born in 1982 and their second son, Prince Henry, in 1984; married (2005) Camilla Parker Bowles

  2. Ray real name Ray Charles Robinson. 1930–2004, US singer, pianist, and songwriter, whose work spans jazz, blues, gospel, pop, and country music

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Charles Scientific  
/ chärlz /

  1. French physicist and inventor who formulated Charles's law in 1787. In 1783 he became the first person to use hydrogen in balloons for flight.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Charles Schwab Chief Investment Strategist Liz Ann Sonders said on the Excess Returns podcast last week that this cohort—one she distinguishes from other, traditional individual investors—makes up a substantial chunk of stock trading many days.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 20, 2026

Senior author Professor Emmanuel Stamatakis, Director of the Mackenzie Wearables Research Hub at the Charles Perkins Centre, highlighted the broader impact of this type of research.

From Science Daily • Apr. 18, 2026

Charles was the first piece of the whole thing.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026

The former prince was stripped of his royal titles, styles and honours by King Charles last year after further details of his relationship with the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein came to light.

From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026

Estelle had died the year before, and Charles struggled to live without her.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.