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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.

See Examples For:

“It would be superfluous in me,” Abraham Lincoln’s emissary Charles Francis Adams wrote to the British foreign secretary, “to point out to your lordship that this is war.”

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 13, 2026

Charles Franklin and Janette Edwards, retirees from California, swore off Greece in the height of summer after a particularly sweltering, crowded trip to Athens a few years ago.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 12, 2026

Charles and Caroline mourn their part in that displacement; they set out for Kansas with the best of intentions, lured by false advertisements of “free” land that never was.

From Salon Jul. 11, 2026

Charles replaces Spain full-back Leila Ouahabi, who left City for Chicago Stars FC, and will wear the number 21 shirt.

From BBC Jul. 10, 2026

The lights had come on in the room, but Ray Charles was still playing through the speakers.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

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