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

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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

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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

"Ten years ago, we could go out every single day" and hit catch limits, the sports fisherman and charter boat operator told AFP.

From Barron's ● Nov. 14, 2026

When you add charter schools, there were close to 140 schools’ athletes participating in the prelims.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2026

Under the city charter, the council can initiate removal proceedings, but only by a two-thirds vote.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 11, 2026

The safety rules for operators of private charter flights are very different from commercial airlines: pilots don’t need as much experience, black boxes aren’t always required, and there isn’t a mandated retirement age.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026

Some in the West saw the charter as empty promises, but not those of us in Africa.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

How many charters do you go on personally?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

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

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

It's been chartered by the field's owners from Aberdeen-based Altera and, during my 48 hours on board, it was constantly but gently rolling on the North Atlantic swell.

From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026

It also helps arrange travel by purchasing seats on commercial flights and reselling them, and in some cases has chartered aircraft.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

Charities step in to help some people leave on chartered planes, as well as via long, excruciating journeys on overcrowded trains and buses.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026

"All service charge expenditure is audited by a firm of chartered certified accountants. A summary document detailing the residential expenditure is provided to each leaseholder by the managing agent."

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026

Though this was supposed to be a chartered train that the deportees had paid for, a mass of Japanese soldiers in their khaki uniforms and caps pushed on board.

From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata

The other big winners are shipowners, who are chartering out their vessels at high rates as fewer ships are available globally.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

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

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

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