charge

CHARJ/t͡ʃɑɹd͡ʒ/UKCHAHJ/t͡ʃɑːd͡ʒ/

Verbcharges, charging, charged

Noun pluralcharges

37 meanings of charge

Practice

1
make payverbtransitive or intransitive
To ask someone to pay money for something.
They charge extra for delivery on weekends.
The doctor's office charged me for the missed appointment.
UsageThey charged me $5 for it. The shop charges; the thing costs.
Similarbill, levy, ask
2
pricenouncountable or uncountable
The money you must pay for a service.
There is a small charge for parking at the beach.
The bank added a charge of two dollars to my bill.
UsageFree of charge means you do not pay.
Similarfee, cost, price, levy
3
responsibilitynouncountable or uncountable
The things that a person is responsible for.
Keeping the keys safe was part of the guard's charge.
The nurse took charge of the patients on the night shift.
UsageSay in charge of something, or take charge.
Similarcontrol, care, responsibility, command
Note
4
criminal accusationnouncountable or uncountable
A statement that someone did something wrong, especially when the police say a person broke the law.
The police brought a charge of theft against the man.
He went to court to answer the charge.
UsageSay a charge of theft. Police can drop the charges.
Similaraccusation, allegation, indictment
Note
5
accuse of crimeverbtransitive
To officially say that someone has broken the law.
The police plan to charge the man with robbery.
Officers charged her after they found the stolen bags in her car.
UsageSay charged with a crime: he was charged with robbery.
Similaraccuse, indict, prosecute, arraign
6
give a dutyverbtransitive
To give someone a job to do or tell them they must do it.
The king decided to charge his knights with guarding the bridge.
Mom charged me with keeping an eye on my little brother.
UsageSay charge someone with a job: she was charged with planning the trip.
Similartask, entrust, instruct, order, direct
Note
7
power upverbtransitive or intransitive
To take in energy, or to fill something with energy.
The phone charges while she sleeps.
We used the sun to charge the camp lights.
Similarreplenish
Oppositedischarge, drain
8
electricity (physics)nouncountable or uncountable
The electricity that an object holds or carries.
Like air inside a balloon: some things hold a lot, and some hold only a little.
Rubbing a balloon on your hair gives it a small charge.
A spark jumped when charge built up on the metal doorknob.
Note
9
stormverbintransitive
To run quickly and hard toward someone or something, often to attack.
The angry bull charged at the man in the red shirt.
Watch out, those goats charge if you get too close.
UsageSay charge at someone: the bull charged at him.
Oppositeretreat, withdraw
10
battery levelnoununcountable
How much electric power a battery or a device like a phone has stored in it.
Like the amount of gas left in a car's tank.
Plug in the camera, because it has almost no charge left.
My new headphones keep their charge for a whole week.
Similarpower
Note

Less common meanings

11
army attacknouncountable or uncountable
A fast, strong run forward, often to attack.
The soldiers made a final charge up the hill.
The knight's horse stumbled during the charge.
UsageSoldiers make a charge or lead a charge.
Similarattack, assault, rush, onslaught, advance
Oppositeretreat, withdrawal
Note
12
pay on accountverbUStransitive
To pay for something by putting it on a credit card or account.
Can I charge the meal to my room?
She charged the new shoes instead of paying cash.
UsageSay charge it to my card.
13
person in carenouncountable or uncountable
A person, especially a child, that someone is taking care of.
The babysitter took her young charge to the park.
The camp counselor made sure each of her charges wore a life jacket.
Similarward
14
make electricverbtransitive
To make an object take on an electric charge.
Like a balloon that sticks to the wall after you rub it on your hair.
Rubbing a plastic comb on wool charges it with static.
Rub a balloon on your hair to charge it.
Oppositedischarge
15
blame onverbtransitive
To say that something bad was caused by a person or thing.
The report charged the accident to poor maintenance.
Don't charge the team's failure to laziness when the plan itself was bad.
Similarattribute, ascribe, impute
Note
16
explosivenouncountable or uncountable
An amount of explosive put in a gun or set somewhere to blow up.
The workers placed a charge under the old bridge before the demolition.
Each charge in the mine was wired to a single switch.
Similarexplosive
Note
17
basketball foulnouncountable or uncountable
In basketball, a foul where the player with the ball runs into a defender who is standing still.
The referee called a charge when Marcus ran into the other player.
She took a charge in the final minute and won the ball back for her team.
UsageSay take a charge or draw a charge.
Note
18
commit a foulverbintransitive
In basketball, to run into a defender who is standing still, which is a foul.
He was called for a foul after he charged into a defender who stood still.
If you charge, the other team gets the ball.
Note
19
record a costverbtransitive
To record a cost as owed on a particular bill or account.
The accountant charged the new chairs to the office budget.
You can charge the supplies to the project's account.
UsageSay charge it to the budget.
Similarbill, debit, allocate, assign
20
fill (equipment)verbtransitive
To fill a machine or tool with the material it needs to work.
The soldier charged his musket with powder before the battle.
Firefighters charge the hose before they aim it at the flames.
Similarload, fill, feed
Oppositeunload, empty
Note
21
official instructionnouncountable or uncountable
An order or instruction that tells someone what they must do.
The teacher's charge was simple: finish the project by Friday.
The coach's charge to the team was to never give up.
Similarinstruction, directive, mandate, command, order
22
mortgagenouncountable or uncountable
A legal hold on a house or land that makes sure a loan gets paid back.
The bank put a charge on their house when they borrowed the money.
You cannot sell the land until the charge on it is paid off.
Similarmortgage, lien
Note
23
pledge propertyverbtransitive
To use a house or land as a promise that you will pay back a loan.
The bank asked them to charge their home as security for the loan.
The loan was safe because the owner had charged his land to the bank.
Similarmortgage, pledge
24
verbarchaic
To demand that someone explain their actions or answer for them.
to charge me to an answer
c. 1596, William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Iohn”
25
nounarchaic
The goods or load that a ship, truck, or animal carries.
26
noun
A picture or shape shown on the shield of a coat of arms.
27
noun
The way a weapon is held when ready to attack.
28
noun
A healing paste put on the skin of an animal.
29
nounobsolete
How important something is.
many suchlike as's of great charge
c. 1599, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”
30
nounobsolete
An old measure for a large amount of lead.
31
noun
A talk a bishop gives to priests at the end of an official visit.
32
nounslang
A slang word for marijuana.
33
verbdated
To ask a set amount when selling goods.
34
verb
To add decoration or a design to something, such as part of a building.
35
verb
To take a symbol for your own coat of arms.
36
verb
In cricket, to step toward the bowler as the ball comes, to hit it better.
37
verb
Of a hunting dog, to lie down flat and stay still when told.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of charge apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

From Old French chargier, from Latin words meaning "to load" and "wagon." It is related to the word cargo.

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

Charge derives from Old French chargier, ultimately from Latin words meaning ‘to load’ and ‘wagon’. en.wiktionary.org
Charge is etymologically related to cargo. en.wiktionary.org