n.
- A document issued by a sovereign, legislature, or other authority, creating a public or private corporation, such as a city, college, or bank, and defining its privileges and purposes.
- A written grant from the sovereign power of a country conferring certain rights and privileges on a person, a corporation, or the people: A royal charter exempted the Massachusetts colony from direct interference by the Crown.
- A document outlining the principles, functions, and organization of a corporate body; a constitution: the city charter.
- An authorization from a central organization to establish a local branch or chapter.
- Special privilege or immunity.
- A contract for the commercial leasing of a vessel or space on a vessel.
- The hiring or leasing of an aircraft, vessel, or other vehicle, especially for the exclusive, temporary use of a group of travelers.
- A written instrument given as evidence of agreement, transfer, or contract; a deed.
Of, relating to, or being an arrangement in which transportation is leased by a group of travelers for their exclusive, temporary use.
tr.v., -tered, -ter·ing, -ters.
- To grant a charter to; establish by charter.
- To hire or lease by charter: charter an oil tanker.
- To hire (a bus or airplane, for example) for the exclusive, temporary use of a group of travelers.
[Middle English chartre, from Old French, from Latin chartula, diminutive of charta, paper made from papyrus. See card1.]
charterer char'ter·er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
