Definition, synonyms and related words
plural of charge
"The police arrested him on charges of theft and fraud."
In plain English: Charges are accusations that someone has done something wrong or illegal.
"The police charges were dropped after new evidence came to light."
Usage: Use charges to refer to fees or costs required for goods and services, such as a hotel room charge or a bank transaction fee. Do not use this term when describing accusations of wrongdoing, which belong in the legal sense of the word.
Third-person singular simple present indicative form of charge
"The teacher charges that the student cheated on the exam."
In plain English: To charge means to ask someone for money as payment for something you provided.
"The police arrested him and read out the charges against him."
Usage: Use charges to describe when someone formally accuses another person of a crime or wrongdoing, such as in "The police charges him with theft." It can also refer to demanding money for goods or services, as in "The restaurant charges extra for parking."
Derived from Old French charger (to load, burden), the term originally meant to place something upon someone or something else. Its modern sense of legal accusations evolved later from the idea of imposing a duty or responsibility.