charter

American  

[chahr-ter] / ˈtʃɑr tər /

noun

• charters
  plural

1. 

   a document, issued by a sovereign or state, outlining the conditions under which a corporation, colony, city, or other corporate body is organized, and defining its rights and privileges.

2. (often initial capital letter) a document defining the formal organization of a corporate body; constitution.

   the Charter of the United Nations.

3. authorization from a central or parent organization to establish a new branch, chapter, etc.

4. a grant by a sovereign power creating a corporation, as the royal charters granted to British colonies in America.

5. Also called charter party. a contract by which part or all of a ship is leased for a voyage or a stated time.

6. a tour, vacation, or trip by charter arrangement.

   The travel agency is offering charters to Europe and the Caribbean.

7. special privilege or immunity.

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verb (used with object)

• charters,
  present (3rd person singular)
• chartered,
  past participle,  past
• chartering
  present participle

1. to establish by charter.

   to charter a bank.

2. to lease or hire for exclusive use.

   The company will charter six buses for the picnic.

3. to give special favor or privilege to.

adjective

1. of or relating to a method of travel in which the transportation is specially leased or hired for members of a group or association.

   a charter flight to Europe.

2. that can be leased or hired for exclusive or private use.

   a charter boat for deep-sea fishing.

3. done or held in accordance with a charter.

   a charter school.

charter British  

/ ˈtʃɑːtə /

noun

1. a formal document from the sovereign or state incorporating a city, bank, college, etc, and specifying its purposes and rights

2. (sometimes capital) a formal document granting or demanding from the sovereign power of a state certain rights or liberties

3. a document issued by a society or an organization authorizing the establishment of a local branch or chapter

4. a special privilege or exemption

5. (often capital) the fundamental principles of an organization; constitution

   the Charter of the United Nations

6. 1. the hire or lease of transportation

   2. the agreement or contract regulating this

   3. ( as modifier )

      a charter flight

7. a law, policy, or decision containing a loophole which allows a specified group to engage more easily in an activity considered undesirable

   a beggars' charter

8. maritime law another word for charterparty

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verb

1. to lease or hire by charterparty

2. to hire (a vehicle, etc)

3. to grant a charter of incorporation or liberties to (a group or person)

Usage

What does charter mean? A charter is a document that defines the exact structure, rights, and organization of a state, colony, corporation, or similar, as in The American colonies were governed by charters authorized by the king of England. A charter is also authorization from a central organization for a sub-organization, like a chapter or branch. To charter means to establish a sub-organization, like a branch or colony, as in The company just chartered its fourth branch this year. A charter can also describe a trip or method of transportation that is organized and established by a corporation or group. Related to this, to charter means to rent or lease for exclusive use, such as for a trip, as in The school chartered buses to take the soccer team to away games. Example: The Charter of the United Nations established the basis for what the organization is today.

Synonym Usage

See hire.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• charterage
  noun
• charterer
  noun
• subcharter
  noun
• recharter
  verb (used with object)
• charterable
  adjective
• charterless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• charters
  plural

Participles

• chartering
  present
• chartered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• charter
  simple
• charters
  simple
• have chartered
  perfect
• has chartered
  perfect
• am chartering
  progressive
• are chartering
  progressive
• is chartering
  progressive
• have been chartering
  perfect progressive
• has been chartering
  perfect progressive

Past

• chartered
  simple
• had chartered
  perfect
• was chartering
  progressive
• were chartering
  progressive
• had been chartering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will charter
  simple
• will have chartered
  perfect
• will be chartering
  progressive
• will have been chartering
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of charter

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English chartre from Old French from Latin chartul(a) “little paper,” equivalent to chart(a) ( see charta) + -ula -ule

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Explanation

What do rock gods do when they travel? They charter their own plane, of course. Charter means you rent or lease a particular service or object. Anyone can charter something, though lesser mortals tend to limit themselves to buses. Charter comes from the Latin charta, meaning "paper, card or map." As a noun, charter refers to a written document outlining — or mapping — the rights and obligations of a company or organization, or even, in older days, a town or entire colony. New York City was given a charter, for example, by the British monarch in the 17th century, guaranteeing it certain rights in exchange for goods and services. Today corporations still have charters governing their behavior.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

charter charters chartered chartering

He lived in the nearby city of Atlanta and worked for Wesley International Academy, a public charter school, for more than 12 years as an IT manager, technology teacher and robotics coach.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

Vessel utilization is likely to recover before charter rates, while increased decommissioning work could provide further support, he says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

Almost every one of these charter schools significantly outperforms Najya’s school.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026

Following a series of scandals that shook public trust in local government, Los Angeles City Council launched a massive charter reform to boost accountability across city departments.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

And like me, he is still getting over it, though I don’t know what the it is, and I’m afraid to ask, but I’m sure it’s why he’s at the charter now.

From "The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary E. Pearson

Plus: Community banks swing back at Trump regulators over crypto charters, and a near-catastrophe on flight 1073 exposes gaping hole in Dubai’s aviation security.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

In the past, trust charters have been used by businesses such as insurance companies and payroll processors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

The businesses tied to outdoor leisure that are expected to benefit include golf courses, outdoor entertainment venues and providers of fishing charters.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026

The comparison with other charters is imperfect as well because other charters have an opt-in admissions process and tend to attract motivated families that research their options and seek out particular schools.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026

“There’s two village charters within walking distance—I checked the directory on the Net—and the Central Academy is just a short drive.”

From "The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary E. Pearson

It also helps arrange travel by purchasing seats on commercial flights and reselling them, and in some cases has chartered aircraft.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

Charities step in to help some people leave on chartered planes, as well as via long, excruciating journeys on overcrowded trains and buses.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a nonprofit chartered by Congress to engage the public in protecting historic sites, says the ballroom project violates federal law.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

The MS Ambition was previously chartered by the Scottish government to provide temporary housing for Ukrainian refugees on the River Clyde.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

They would all fly in on a chartered plane the next day.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

You can rent them through Gulet Bookers, a Bodrum-based yacht chartering company.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

Vessels still are likely to encounter “port congestion,” as well as chartering and scheduling disruptions, said Sean Pribyl, a maritime attorney at Holland & Knight.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 18, 2026

The coalition he belongs to is chartering buses to bring protesters from across California for Monday's game and is hoping to have "40- to 50,000 people" around the stadium, he said.

From Barron's ● Jun. 14, 2026

For example, Epstein discusses chartering a plane from Scotland for the redacted user in the chat, and offers praise for their "Oxford speech".

From BBC ● Nov. 14, 2025

Maybe; but it's a wearisome business all the same, this steam chartering.

From Dry Fish and Wet Tales from a Norwegian Seaport by Anthon Bernhard Elias Nilsen

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