I. ˈchärj, ˈchȧj verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English chargen, from Old French chargier, from Late Latin carricare, from Latin carrus wheeled vehicle — more at car
transitive verb
1.
a. archaic
(1) : to put a load on or in
horses charged with heavy burdens
(2) : to place as a load
directing the servants … to charge the Saratoga trunk upon the dickey — R.L.Stevenson
b.
(1) obsolete : to place too heavy a burden on : overload
(2) : to weigh down with a heavy burden (as of guilt, sickness, or expense)
his spirit was charged with sorrow
(3) : emphasize , exaggerate ; especially : to render more striking (a detail in a work of art)
charge a line by reinforcing with black
c.
(1) : to place a charge (as of materials to be treated or consumed) in
charge the magazine with three rounds
: load or fill to capacity or up to the required amount
charge a blast furnace with ore
(2) : to impart an electric charge to
(3) : to restore the active materials in (a storage battery) by the passage of a direct current through in the opposite direction to that of discharge
(4) : to load (a charge) into something
granulated cork is charged into suitable molds and heat is applied — G.B.Cooke
(5) : to fill or load (as a brush or pen) with pigment or ink
(6) : to fill (as a fire hose) with water under pressure
(7) : embed
charge abrasive grains in a metal disk for grinding
d.
(1) : to assume as a heraldic bearing
he charges three roses or
(2) : to place a heraldic bearing on
he charges his shield with three roses or
e.
(1) : to fill full : furnish fully
a brain charged with fancies
especially : to fill with a particular mood, tone, or spirit
charges the air with its cosmopolitan sense of freedom — Harry Levin
(2) : to cause to be mixed or saturated : impregnate
warehouses chargeing the air with odors of spice and coffee
2.
a.
(1) : to impose a particular duty or task on : entrust with a responsibility, duty, or task
chairman specifically charged with leading the board — G.B.Hurff
(2) : to entrust with the care, custody, or management of something or someone
I charge myself with him … I will take care of him — Charles Dickens
b. : to command or exhort with authority
Badoglio was charged by the king to form a new cabinet — Sir Winston Churchill
: urge earnestly
I charge thee be not thou more grieved than I am — Shakespeare
c. of a judge : to give a charge to (a jury)
3.
a. : to bring an accusation against : call to account : blame
charged him as the instigator of the disorder
b. : to make an assertion against especially by ascribing guilt or blame for an offense or wrong : accuse — used with with
reluctant to charge a dead man with an offense from which he could not clear himself — Edith Wharton
c. : to place the blame or guilt for (a fault or wrongdoing) — now usually used with to
he charged the fiasco to overconfidence
d. : to assert as an accusation
charged that the … line would tend to become a monopoly — Current Biography
4.
a. : to bring (a weapon) to a position suited for attack : level
charge a lance
b. : to drive upon, rush against, or bear down upon rapidly and violently
charge an enemy position
the car charged the bank and broke through the fence
5.
a.
(1) : to impose a pecuniary burden on
charge his estate with any debts incurred
(2) : to impose or record as a pecuniary obligation
charge debts to an estate
b.
(1) : to fix or ask (a sum) as a fee or payment
charge $10 for his services
(2) : to ask payment of (a person)
charge a client for expenses
— often used with a double object
charge a student $50 for meals
c.
(1) : to record (an item) as an expense, debt, obligation, or liability — usually used with to or against
charge a purchase to a customer
charge a library book to a borrower
charge a mistake against a person
(2) : to record a debt, obligation, or liability against
charge your account with the goods ordered
charge a person with a book borrowed from a library
charge a fielder with an error
(3) : to enter on the debit side of an account
charge a sum against income for depreciation
charge rent and phone bill to administration
intransitive verb
1. : to drive or rush violently forward typically in attack
the cavalry charged to the flank
came charging through the door, wearing a baseball mitt on one hand — Jean Stafford
2. : to ask or set a price
charge high for goods
: ask payment
he doesn't charge at all for it
3. of a judge : to give a charge to the jury
4. of a dog : to lie down with head on forepaws
Synonyms: see accuse , ascribe , burden , command , rush
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- charge to capital
- charge to revenue
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old French, from chargier, v.
1.
a. obsolete : a material load or weight
b. : a figure borne on a heraldic field : bearing
c. : a plaster or ointment used on a domestic animal
d.
(1) : the quantity of explosive used in a single discharge
a cartridge with a powder charge of 70 grains
an artillery shell with an explosive bursting charge
a charge of dynamite under the stump
(2) : the powder and shot in a cartridge
e. : the quantity of material to be used or consumed that is loaded at one time into an apparatus or that a mechanism is intended to receive in any single operation
the charge of chemicals in a fire extinguisher
the charge of mixed fuel and air in the cylinder of a gas engine
the charge of coal placed in a coal-gas retort
f.
(1) : electric charge
(2) : the quantity of electricity that a storage battery is capable of yielding expressed usually in ampere-hours
(3) : the process of charging a storage battery
g.
(1) : a store or accumulation of force (as emotion, excitement, or affective power)
poetry with an emotional charge , deeply felt and communicated to the reader
: impelling especially emotional force : drive
a man with a high emotional charge
(2) : cathexis 2
(3) slang : a strong feeling of amusement, pleasure, or excitement : kick
the children got a big charge out of the clown
h. : the abrasive powder or grains in the surface of a lap used for grinding, polishing, or sawing
2. obsolete : consequence , importance
this army of such mass and charge — Shakespeare
3.
a. : something that one is obligated for : a duty or task laid upon one : obligation
to maintain this readiness … is … a first charge upon our military effort — Sir Winston Churchill
b. : control of the acts, workings, or disposition of something : management , supervision
he assumed full charge of the business
: care , custody
remained under his uncle's charge during his minority
c. : the parish, church, district, or congregations regularly served by a clergyman
d. : a person or thing committed or entrusted to the care, custody, management, or support of another
nursemaids sunning their charges by the sea — D.G.Gerahty
he entered the poorhouse, becoming a county charge
4.
a. : instruction , command , order , injunction
he gave them charge about the queen to guard and foster her forevermore — Alfred Tennyson
b. : a formal address containing instruction or exhortation: as
(1) : an official address of instruction by a senior church official to his clergy or upon the ordination of a minister
(2) : an instruction given by the court to the jury in order to govern their action in coming to or making their decision ; specifically : the statement made by the judge to the jury at the close of a trial of the principles of law that the latter are bound to apply to the facts as determined by them in deciding upon their verdict
5.
a. : expenditure or incurred expense
living at the charge of his brother
as
(1) : payment of costs : money paid out
(2) : a pecuniary liability (as rents or taxes) against property, a person, or an organization
charges upon the estate
smoking has become … a fixed charge on the expenditures of every family — Morris Fishbein
— often used in plural
b. : the price demanded for a thing or service
a 10-cent admission charge
— often used in plural
reverse the charges for a telephone call
c. : a debit to an account
a charge to expense account
: an entry in an account of what is due from one party to another
a charge to a customer's account
: something that is debited
the purchase was a charge
d. : the record of a loan (as of a book from a library)
6.
a. : an accusation of a wrong or offense : allegation , indictment
arrested on the charge of bribery
b. : a statement of complaint or hostile criticism
the charge that earned incomes are based upon no principle of equity
7.
a. of a weapon : a position of readiness for attack
pikes held in charge
b.
(1) : a violent and impetuous rush toward or upon some person or object
the lion's charge carried him past the antelope
specifically : an attack with the intent of closing with an enemy
a tank charge
— compare assault I 2
(2) : the signal for attack
the bugle sounds the charge
c. : a lunge used chiefly in gymnastics in which the trunk and stationary leg form a straight line
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- in charge