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

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

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

Lighthouse Island is protected by the bird observatory and can only be accessed on an approved charter boat.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

The average annual rate to charter a large car carrier hit $70,000 a day in June, according to shipbroker Clarksons, up from $42,500 at the end of last year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

When asked whether the program has been terminated, EPA officials said simply that the committee’s charter expired on June 5, 2025.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

Private and charter schools are on the up in both academics and athletics, leaving places like Dorsey — that dominated for so long — behind.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026

Lee is a traditionalist, like many in Levittown, and no fan of charter schools or anything else that scrapes money away from school systems.

From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove

Still, Mr. Dais says he knows students who tried Success Academy and left, and he opposes lifting the state’s cap on the number of charters, even as he acknowledges their agility.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 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

They point, essentially, to test scores that are lower than the state average, lower than other charters and lower than nearby district-operated “comparison” schools.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026

Melvoin’s opponent is Ankur Patel, outreach director for Hindu University of America, who is critical of some charters but not as much as Rivas is, based on his survey responses.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026

Shelly said, “I’ve known Paine since back when he and Dusty used to fish charters out of Ted’s. He was always a gentleman—your daddy, 1 mean, not Dusty.”

From "Flush" by Carl Hiaasen

Tens of thousands of foreigners have left the country, including Nigerians, many of whom boarded specially chartered repatriation flights.

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026

Several buses have been chartered to transport elderly people.

From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026

A recent Ukrainian drone attack hit four tankers, including one chartered by Chevron, in the Black Sea near Novorossiysk.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026

Four ships sustained damage near the Black Sea pipeline in recent days, including a tanker chartered by Chevron and owned by Greek shipper Aristidis Alafouzos, chief executive of Okeanis Eco.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

Successive generations of people in bunches, never seeming very well organized, have been building the MBL since it was chartered in 1888.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas

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

Prices in both regions surged this week, along with the cost of chartering tankers to move the gas.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 3, 2026

The team has to coordinate between two airline partners, chartering a Boeing 757 from Delta and a Boeing 737-800 from United, to handle travel parties of sometimes more than 100 in all.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2025

Richard Swinton was disconcerted—the more so that he had spent thirty shillings in chartering the pony phaeton with its attendant groom.

From The Child Wife by Mayne Reid

Related Words

• code
• constitution
• contract
• document
• license
• pact
• permit
• settlement