a document incorporating an institution and specifying its rights; includes the articles of incorporation and the certificate of incorporation
"The judge referred to the original charter when ruling on whether the newly formed university had the legal right to issue degrees."
a contract to hire or lease transportation
"The company decided to charter a private jet for their executives' trip to Tokyo."
A document issued by some authority, creating a public or private institution, and defining its purposes and privileges.
"The newly elected mayor signed the charter that officially established the community library and outlined its funding rules."
In plain English: A charter is an official document that gives a group of people the legal right to do something specific, like form a city or run a school.
"The company rented a charter bus to take all the employees to the conference."
Usage: As a noun, a charter refers to an official document that establishes an organization, city, or business and outlines its rights and rules. You would use this term when discussing the founding papers of institutions like universities, corporations, or local governments.
grant a charter to
"The city council voted last night to finally grant a charter to the new community library association."
To grant or establish a charter.
"The state voted to charter a new non-profit organization dedicated to preserving local history."
In plain English: To charter something means to hire it exclusively for your own use, like renting out an entire bus or plane.
"We decided to charter a boat for our weekend trip."
Usage: As a verb, to charter means to officially grant a charter to an organization or to hire a vehicle like a bus or plane exclusively for a group. You would use it when a government authorizes a new institution or when you pay for the full use of transportation rather than buying individual tickets.
Leased or hired.
"We decided to charter a private boat for our weekend trip down the coast."
In plain English: Charter means something that is created by an official agreement rather than by law.
"The charter bus took us on a tour of the city."
Usage: Use "chartered" as an adjective to describe vehicles like planes or buses that have been rented exclusively for a specific group's use. This term implies full control over the transportation rather than simply buying a ticket on a public service.
A surname.
"The local historical society invited Mr. Charter to speak about his family's roots in the early 19th century."
The word charter comes from the Latin chartula, a diminutive form meaning "little sheet" or "parchment." It entered English via Old French and Middle English, originally referring to a written document on such parchment before evolving into its modern sense of a formal grant or agreement.