charge

¹ American  

[chahrj] / tʃɑrdʒ /

verb (used with object)

charged, charging

1. to impose or ask as a price or fee.

   That store charges $25 for leather gloves.

2. to impose on or ask of (someone) a price or fee.

   He didn't charge me for it.

3. to defer payment for (a purchase) until a bill is rendered by the creditor.

   The store let me charge the coat.

4. to hold liable for payment; enter a debit against.

5. to attack by rushing violently against.

   The cavalry charged the enemy.

   Synonyms:

   assault

6. to accuse formally or explicitly (usually followed bywith ).

   They charged him with theft.

   Synonyms:

   impeach, arraign, indict

   Antonyms:

   absolve, acquit

7. to impute; ascribe the responsibility for.

   He charged the accident to his own carelessness.

8. to instruct authoritatively, as a judge does a jury.

9. to lay a command or injunction upon.

   He charged his secretary with the management of his correspondence.

   Synonyms:

   order, require, bid, urge, exhort, enjoin

10. to fill or furnish (a thing) with the quantity, as of powder or fuel, that it is fitted to receive.

    to charge a musket.

11. to supply with a quantity of electric charge or electrical energy.

    to charge a storage battery.

12. to change the net amount of positive or negative electric charge of (a particle, body, or system).

13. to suffuse, as with emotion.

    The air was charged with excitement.

14. to fill (air, water, etc.) with other matter in a state of diffusion or solution.

    The air was charged with pollen.

15. Metallurgy. to load (materials) into a furnace, converter, etc.

16. to load or burden (the mind, heart, etc.).

    His mind was charged with weighty matters.

17. to put a load or burden on or in.

18. to record the loan of, as books or other materials from a library (often followed byout ).

    The librarian will charge those books at the front desk.

19. to borrow, as books or other materials from a library (often followed byout ).

    How many magazines may I charge at one time?

20. Heraldry. to place charges on (an escutcheon).

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verb (used without object)

charged, charging

1. to make an onset; rush, as to an attack.

2. to place the price of a thing to one's debit.

3. to require payment.

   to charge for a service.

4. to make a debit, as in an account.

5. (of dogs) to lie down at command.

noun

1. expense or cost.

   improvements made at a tenant's own charge.

2. a fee or price charged.

   a charge of three dollars for admission.

3. a pecuniary burden, encumbrance, tax, or lien; cost; expense; liability to pay.

   After his death there were many charges on his estate.

4. an entry in an account of something due.

5. an impetuous onset or attack, as of soldiers.

   Synonyms:

   assault, onslaught

6. a signal by bugle, drum, etc., for a military charge.

7. a duty or responsibility laid upon or entrusted to one.

   Synonyms:

   trust, commission

8. care, custody, or superintendence.

   The child was placed in her nurse's charge.

   Synonyms:

   management

9. anything or anybody committed to one's care or management.

   The nurse was careful to let no harm come to her charge.

10. Ecclesiastical. a parish or congregation committed to the spiritual care of a pastor.

11. a command or injunction; exhortation.

12. an accusation.

    He was arrested on a charge of theft.

    Synonyms:

    allegation, imputation, indictment

13. Law. an address by a judge to a jury at the close of a trial, instructing it as to the legal points, the weight of evidence, etc., affecting the verdict in the case.

14. the quantity of anything that an apparatus is fitted to hold, or holds, at one time.

    a charge of coal for a furnace.

15. a quantity of explosive to be set off at one time.

16. Electricity.

    1. electric charge.

    2. the process of charging a storage battery.

17. Slang. a thrill; kick.

18. Rocketry. grains of a solid propellant, usually including an inhibitor.

19. a load or burden.

    Synonyms:

    freight, cargo

20. Heraldry. any distinctive mark upon an escutcheon, as an ordinary or device, not considered as belonging to the field; bearing.

verb phrase

1. charge off

   1. to write off as an expense or loss.

   2. to attribute to.

      I charged off the blunder to inexperience.

2. charge up

   1. to agitate, stimulate, or excite.

      a fiery speaker who can charge up an audience.

   2. to put or be under the influence of narcotic drugs.

idioms

1. in charge of,

   1. having the care or supervision of.

      She is in charge of two libraries.

   2. Also in the charge of. under the care or supervision of.

      The books are in the charge of the accounting office.

2. in charge,

   1. in command; having supervisory power.

   2. British. under arrest; in or into the custody of the police.

chargé ² American  

[shahr-zhey, shahr-zhey, shar-zhey] / ʃɑrˈʒeɪ, ˈʃɑr ʒeɪ, ʃarˈʒeɪ /

noun

plural

chargés

1. a chargé d'affaires.

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charge British  

/ tʃɑːdʒ /

verb

1. to set or demand (a price)

   he charges too much for his services

2. (tr) to hold financially liable; enter a debit against

3. (tr) to enter or record as an obligation against a person or his account

4. (tr) to accuse or impute a fault to (a person, etc), as formally in a court of law

5. (tr) to command; place a burden upon or assign responsibility to

   I was charged to take the message to headquarters

6. to make a rush at or sudden attack upon (a person or thing)

7. (tr) to fill (a receptacle) with the proper or appropriate quantity

8. (often foll by up) to cause (an accumulator, capacitor, etc) to take or store electricity or (of an accumulator) to have electricity fed into it

9. to fill or suffuse or to be filled or suffused with matter by dispersion, solution, or absorption

   to charge water with carbon dioxide

10. (tr) to fill or suffuse with feeling, emotion, etc

    the atmosphere was charged with excitement

11. (tr) law (of a judge) to address (a jury) authoritatively

12. (tr) to load (a firearm)

13. (tr) to aim (a weapon) in position ready for use

14. (tr) heraldry to paint (a shield, banner, etc) with a charge

15. (intr) (of hunting dogs) to lie down at command

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noun

1. a price charged for some article or service; cost

2. a financial liability, such as a tax

3. a debt or a book entry recording it

4. an accusation or allegation, such as a formal accusation of a crime in law

5. 1. an onrush, attack, or assault

   2. the call to such an attack in battle

6. custody or guardianship

7. a person or thing committed to someone's care

8. 1. a cartridge or shell

   2. the explosive required to discharge a firearm or other weapon

   3. an amount of explosive material to be detonated at any one time

9. the quantity of anything that a receptacle is intended to hold

10. physics

    1. the attribute of matter by which it responds to electromagnetic forces responsible for all electrical phenomena, existing in two forms to which the signs negative and positive are arbitrarily assigned

    2. a similar property of a body or system determined by the extent to which it contains an excess or deficiency of electrons

    3. a quantity of electricity determined by the product of an electric current and the time for which it flows, measured in coulombs

    4. the total amount of electricity stored in a capacitor

    5.  q.   Q.  the total amount of electricity held in an accumulator, usually measured in ampere-hours

11. a load or burden

12. a duty or responsibility; control

13. a command, injunction, or order

14. slang a thrill

15. law the address made by a judge to the jury at the conclusion of the evidence

16. heraldry a design, device, or image depicted on heraldic arms

    a charge of three lions

17. the solid propellant used in rockets, sometimes including the inhibitor

18. in command

19. 1. having responsibility for

    2. under the care of

charge Scientific  

/ chärj /

1. A fundamental property of the elementary particles of which matter is made that gives rise to attractive and repulsive forces. There are two kinds of charge: color charge and electric charge.

2. See more at color charge electric charge

3. The amount of electric charge contained in an object, particle, or region of space.

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charge More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing charge

• carrying charge
• get a bang (charge) out of
• in charge
• in charge of
• take charge

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Related Words

See price.

Other Word Forms

• chargeless adjective
• self-charging adjective

Etymology

Origin of charge¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; 1950–55 charge for def. 39; (verb) Middle English chargen, from Anglo-French, Old French charg(i)er, from Late Latin carricāre “to load a wagon,” equivalent to carr(us) “wagon” ( car ¹ ) + -icā- verb suffix. + -re infinitive ending; (noun) Middle English, from Anglo-French, Old French, noun derivative of the verb

Origin of chargé²

By shortening

Explanation

Charge can mean electricity received, as in the shock you’d feel if you put your finger in a wall socket. Charge is also what you do when you use your credit card instead of cash. Shopping can be electrifying too. Charge has many meanings. Charge is what a cavalry does when it rushes towards enemy lines. A charge is also the cost of something. When you are “in charge,” it means that you are in command of everything. And when you are “in charge of,” it means that you have a specific responsibility. And when you are excited about something, you “get a charge out of it.” If you like power, you might get a charge out of being in charge.

Example Sentences

In 2025, Ford took a $600 million charge for a fuel injector recall.

From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026

Iran is pushing for formal recognition of its right to charge oil tankers a transit fee in the Strait of Hormuz as part of war-end negotiations.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

A federal grand jury later reinstated the felony charge.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026

Tottenham manager Roberto de Zerbi says he is "not better" than predecessors Thomas Frank or Igor Tudor as he prepares to take charge of his first game at the Premier League strugglers.

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

This left Lord Fredrick in charge, though he was quick to admit he felt out of his depth.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood