charge

to defer payment for (a purchase) until a bill is rendered by the creditor: The store let me charge the coat.

to hold liable for payment; enter a debit against.

to attack by rushing violently against: The cavalry charged the enemy.

to accuse formally or explicitly (usually followed by with): They charged him with theft.

to impute; ascribe the responsibility for: He charged the accident to his own carelessness.

to instruct authoritatively, as a judge does a jury.

to lay a command or injunction upon: He charged his secretary with the management of his correspondence.

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

to supply with a quantity of electric charge or electrical energy: to charge a storage battery.

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

to suffuse, as with emotion: The air was charged with excitement.

to fill (air, water, etc.) with other matter in a state of diffusion or solution: The air was charged with pollen.

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

to load or burden (the mind, heart, etc.): His mind was charged with weighty matters.

to put a load or burden on or in.

to record the loan of, as books or other materials from a library (often followed by out): The librarian will charge those books at the front desk.

to borrow, as books or other materials from a library (often followed by out): How many magazines may I charge at one time?

Heraldry. to place charges on (an escutcheon).

to require payment: to charge for a service.

to make a debit, as in an account.

(of dogs) to lie down at command.

a pecuniary burden, encumbrance, tax, or lien; cost; expense; liability to pay: After his death there were many charges on his estate.

an entry in an account of something due.

an impetuous onset or attack, as of soldiers.

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

a duty or responsibility laid upon or entrusted to one.

care, custody, or superintendence: The child was placed in her nurse's charge.

anything or anybody committed to one's care or management: The nurse was careful to let no harm come to her charge.

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

a command or injunction; exhortation.

an accusation: He was arrested on a charge of theft.

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.

the quantity of anything that an apparatus is fitted to hold, or holds, at one time: a charge of coal for a furnace.

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

Electricity.

Slang. a thrill; kick.

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

a load or burden.

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

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

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

(tr) to command; place a burden upon or assign responsibility to: I was charged to take the message to headquarters

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

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

(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

to fill or suffuse or to be filled or suffused with matter by dispersion, solution, or absorption: to charge water with carbon dioxide

(tr) to fill or suffuse with feeling, emotion, etc: the atmosphere was charged with excitement

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

(tr) to load (a firearm)

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

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

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

a debt or a book entry recording it

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

custody or guardianship

a person or thing committed to someone's care

the quantity of anything that a receptacle is intended to hold

physics

a load or burden

a duty or responsibility; control

a command, injunction, or order

slang a thrill

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

heraldry a design, device, or image depicted on heraldic arms: a charge of three lions

the solid propellant used in rockets, sometimes including the inhibitor

in charge in command

in charge of