I. char ‧ ter 1 /ˈtʃɑːtə $ ˈtʃɑːrtər/ BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1100-1200 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: chartre , from Medieval Latin chartula , from Latin charta ; ⇨ ↑ chart 1 ]
1 . [countable] a statement of the principles, duties, and purposes of an organization:
the freedoms embodied in the UN charter
2 . [uncountable] the practice of paying money to a company to use their boats, aircraft etc, or the boat, aircraft etc used in this way:
boats available for charter
a charter service
3 . [countable] a signed statement from a government or ruler which allows a town, organization, or university to officially exist and have special rights:
The town’s charter was granted in 1838.
4 . [singular] British English informal a law or official decision that seems to give someone the right to do something most people consider morally wrong:
Reducing the number of police is just a thieves’ charter.
II. charter 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive]
1 . to pay a company for the use of their aircraft, boat etc:
We chartered a boat to take us to some of the smaller islands.
2 . to say officially that a town, organization, or university officially exists and has special rights