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  • Charlie
    Charlie
    noun
    a word used in communications to represent the letter C.
  • charlie
    charlie
    noun
    a silly person; fool

Charlie

American  
[chahr-lee] / ˈtʃɑr li /

noun

  1. a word used in communications to represent the letter C.

  2. Military Slang. Also Charley Victor Charlie.

  3. a male given name, form of Charles.

  4. a female given name.


charlie 1 British  
/ ˈtʃɑːlɪ /

noun

  1. informal a silly person; fool

  2. old-fashioned a girl or woman

"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

Charlie 2 British  
/ ˈtʃɑːlɪ /

noun

  1. communications a code word for the letter c

"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

Charlie 3 British  
/ ˈtʃɑːlɪ /

noun

  1. slang military a member of the Vietcong or the Vietcong collectively

    Charlie hit us with rockets

"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

Charlie 4 British  
/ ˈtʃɑːlɪ /

noun

  1. slang cocaine

"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

Etymology

Origin of charlie1

C20: for sense 1: shortened from Charlie Hunt, rhyming slang for cunt ; sense 2 is shortened from Charlie Wheeler, rhyming slang for sheila

Origin of Charlie3

shortened from Victor Charlie, communications code for VC, abbreviation of Vietcong

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.

For more than a century, filmmakers from Charlie Chaplin to Frank Capra to Terrence Malick have captured and even shaped this country’s identity and ideals.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 24, 2026

One of the first such figures was Charlie Chaplin.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 24, 2026

Charlie Henry from Gallos Brook Community Group said they have been testing the waterways "to prove that there are high levels in many waterways surrounding the base".

From BBC • Jun. 23, 2026

"Until you actually get the robot actually trying to do the thing you think it can do, you don't really know," said Charlie Kemp of Hello Robot, which sells robots for people with limited mobility.

From Barron's • Jun. 18, 2026

“Ah,” said Charlie, whose arithmetic never added up to much.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

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