Definitions for: Charge


[n] a task that has been assigned to a person or group; "a confidential mission to London"; "his charge was deliver a message"
[n] attention and management implying responsibility for safety; "he is under the care of a physician"
[n] a impetuous rush toward someone or something; "the wrestler's charge carried him past his adversary"; "the battle began with a cavalry charge"
[n] a quantity of explosive to be set off at one time; "this cartridge has a powder charge of 50 grains"
[n] heraldry consisting of a design or image depicted on a shield
[n] (criminal law) a pleading describing some wrong or offense; "he was arrested on a charge of larceny"
[n] an assertion that someone is guilty of a fault or offence; "the newspaper published charges that Jones was guilty of drunken driving"
[n] a formal statement of a command or injunction to do something; "the judge's charge to the jury"
[n] request for payment of a debt; "they submitted their charges at the end of each month"
[n] the swift release of a store of affective force; "they got a great bang out of it"; "what a rush!"; "he does it for kicks"
[n] (psychoanalysis) the libidinal energy invested in some idea or person or object; "Freud thought of cathexis as a psychic analog of an electrical charge"
[n] a person committed to your care; "the teacher led her charges across the street"
[n] the quantity of unbalanced electricity in a body (either positive or negative) and construed as an excess or deficiency of electrons; "the battery needed a fresh charge"
[n] the price charged for some article or service; "the admission charge"
[n] financial liabilities (such as a tax); "the charges against the estate"
[v] saturate; "The room was charged with tension and anxiety"
[v] energize a battery by passing a current through it in the direction opposite to discharge; "I need to charge my car battery"
[v] cause formation of a net electrical charge in or on (a conductor, for example)
[v] set or ask for a certain price; "How much do you charge for lunch?"; "This fellow charges $100 for a massage"
[v] attribute responsibility to; "We blamed the accident on her"; "The tragedy was charged to her inexperience"
[v] instruct or command with authority; "The teacher charged the children to memorize the poem"
[v] instruct (a jury) about the law, its application, and the weighing of evidence
[v] impose a task upon, assign a responsibility to; "He charged her with cleaning up all the files over the weekend"
[v] blame for, make a claim of wrongdoing or misbehavior against; "he charged me director with indifference"
[v] make an accusatory claim; "The defense attorney charged that the jurors were biased"
[v] file a formal charge against; "The suspect was charged with murdering his wife"
[v] to make a rush at or sudden attack upon, as in battle; "he saw Jess charging at him with a pitchfork."
[v] direct into a position for use; "point a gun"; "He charged his weapon at me"
[v] fill or load to capacity; "charge the wagon with hay"
[v] provide with munition"He loaded his gun carefully"
[v] place a heraldic bearing on; of weapons, shields, and banners
[v] cause to be agitated, excited, or roused; "The speaker charged up the crowd with his inflammatory remarks"
[v] lie down on command, of hunting dogs
[v] move quickly and violently; "The car tore down the street"; "He came charging into my office"
[v] pay with a credit card; pay with plastic money; postpone payment by recording a purchase as a debt; "Will you pay cash or charge the purchase?"
[v] demand payment; "Will I get charged for this service?"; "We were billed for 4 nights in the hotel, although e stayed only 3 nights"
[v] enter a certain amount as a charge; "he charged me $15"
[v] give over to another for care or safekeeping; "consign your baggage"
[v] cause to be admitted; of persons to an institution; "After the second episode, she had to be committed"; "he was committed to prison"
[v] assign a duty, responsibility or obligation to; "He was appointed deputy manager"; "She was charged with supervising the creation of a concordance"



Webster (1913) Definition: Charge, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Charged; p. pr. & vb. n.
Charging.] [OF. chargier, F. charger, fr. LL. carricare,
fr. L. carrus wagon. Cf. Cargo, Caricature, Cark, and
see Car.]
1. To lay on or impose, as a load, tax, or burden; to load;
to fill.

A carte that charged was with hay. --Chaucer.

The charging of children's memories with rules.
--Locke.

2. To lay on or impose, as a task, duty, or trust; to
command, instruct, or exhort with authority; to enjoin; to
urge earnestly; as, to charge a jury; to charge the clergy
of a diocese; to charge an agent.

Moses . . . charged you to love the Lord your God.
--Josh. xxii.
5.

Cromwell, I charge thee, fling away ambition.
--Shak.

3. To lay on, impose, or make subject to or liable for.

When land shall be charged by any lien. --Kent.

4. To fix or demand as a price; as, he charges two dollars a
barrel for apples.

5. To place something to the account of as a debt; to debit,
as, to charge one with goods. Also, to enter upon the
debit side of an account; as, to charge a sum to one.

6. To impute or ascribe; to lay to one's charge.

No more accuse thy pen, but charge the crime On
native sloth and negligence of time. --Dryden.

7. To accuse; to make a charge or assertion against (a person
or thing); to lay the responsibility (for something said
or done) at the door of.

If he did that wrong you charge him with.
--Tennyson.

8. To place within or upon any firearm, piece of apparatus or
machinery, the quantity it is intended and fitted to hold
or bear; to load; to fill; as, to charge a gun; to charge
an electrical machine, etc.

Their battering cannon charged to the mouths.
--Shak.

9. To ornament with or cause to bear; as, to charge an
architectural member with a molding.

10. (Her.) To assume as a bearing; as, he charges three roses
or; to add to or represent on; as, he charges his shield
with three roses or.

11. To call to account; to challenge. [Obs.]

To charge me to an answer. --Shak.

12. To bear down upon; to rush upon; to attack.

Charged our main battle's front. --Shak.

Syn: To intrust; command; exhort; instruct; accuse; impeach;
arraign. See Accuse.


Charge, v. i.
1. To make an onset or rush; as, to charge with fixed
bayonets.

Like your heroes of antiquity, he charges in iron.
--Glanvill.

``Charge for the guns!'' he said. --Tennyson.

2. To demand a price; as, to charge high for goods.

3. To debit on an account; as, to charge for purchases.

4. To squat on its belly and be still; -- a command given by
a sportsman to a dog.


Charge, n. [F. charge, fr. charger to load. See
Charge, v. t., and cf. Cargo, Caricature.]
1. A load or burder laid upon a person or thing.

2. A person or thing commited or intrusted to the care,
custody, or management of another; a trust.

Note: The people of a parish or church are called the charge
of the clergyman who is set over them.

3. Custody or care of any person, thing, or place; office;
responsibility; oversight; obigation; duty.

'Tis a great charge to come under one body's hand.
--Shak.

4. Heed; care; anxiety; trouble. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

5. Harm. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

6. An order; a mandate or command; an injunction.

The king gave cherge concerning Absalom. --2. Sam.
xviii. 5.

7. An address (esp. an earnest or impressive address)
containing instruction or exhortation; as, the charge of a
judge to a jury; the charge of a bishop to his clergy.

8. An accusation of a wrong of offense; allegation;
indictment; specification of something alleged.

The charge of confounding very different classes of
phenomena. --Whewell.

9. Whatever constitutes a burden on property, as rents,
taxes, lines, etc.; costs; expense incurred; -- usually in
the plural.

10. The price demanded for a thing or service.

11. An entry or a account of that which is due from one party
to another; that which is debited in a business
transaction; as, a charge in an account book.

12. That quantity, as of ammunition, electricity, ore, fuel,
etc., which any apparatus, as a gun, battery, furnace,
machine, etc., is intended to receive and fitted to hold,
or which is actually in it at one time

13. The act of rushing upon, or towards, an enemy; a sudden
onset or attack, as of troops, esp. cavalry; hence, the
signal for attack; as, to sound the charge.

Never, in any other war afore, gave the Romans a
hotter charge upon the enemies. --Holland.

The charge of the light brigade. --Tennyson.

14. A position (of a weapon) fitted for attack; as, to bring
a weapon to the charge.

15. (Far.) A soft of plaster or ointment.

16. (Her.) A bearing. See Bearing, n., 8.

17. [Cf. Charre.] Thirty-six pigs of lead, each pig
weighing about seventy pounds; -- called also charre.

18. Weight; import; value.

Many suchlike ``as's'' of great charge. --Shak.

Back charge. See under Back, a.

Bursting charge.
(a (Mil.) The charge which bursts a shell, etc.
(b (Mining) A small quantity of fine powder to secure
the ignition of a charge of coarse powder in
blasting.

Charge and discharge (Equity Practice), the old mode or
form of taking an account before a master in chancery.

Charge sheet, the paper on which are entered at a police
station all arrests and accusations.

To sound the charge, to give the signal for an attack.

Syn: Care; custody; trust; management; office; expense; cost;
price; assault; attack; onset; injunction; command;
order; mandate; instruction; accusation; indictment.

Synonyms: accuse, agitate, appoint, armorial bearing, bang, bear down, bearing, bill, billing, blame, boot, buck, burden, burster, bursting charge, care, cathexis, charge up, commission, commission, commove, complaint, consign, direction, electric charge, excite, explosive charge, file, flush, guardianship, heraldic bearing, institutionalise, institutionalize, kick, level, lodge, mission, point, rouse, rush, saddle, send, shoot, shoot down, tear, thrill, turn on, tutelage

Antonyms: calm, calm down, discharge, lull, pay cash, quiet, quieten, still, tranquilize, tranquillise, tranquillize

See Also: account, accredit, accusal, accusation, adjure, agio, agiotage, aim, alter, annulet, ascribe, asking, asperse, assertion, assess, assessment, asseveration, assign, assign, assignment, attack, attribute, authorise, authorize, averment, bear down, belt along, besmirch, bid, bidding, bill of indictment, blame, bother, bucket along, burden, burthen, calculate, calumniate, cannonball along, carrying charge, change, charge per unit, check, chevron, claim, command, command, commit, compel, complain, confide, cost, create, criminate, debit, defame, delegate, deluge, demurrage, denigrate, dependant, dependent, depreciation charge, depute, deputise, deputize, designate, determine, dictation, direct, disturb, dub, due care, duty assignment, electrical phenomenon, electrify, electrostatic charge, empower, encumbrance, entrust, exchange premium, excitement, exhilaration, explosive, fare, fault, fill, fill up, fixed charge, fleur-de-lis, fleur-de-lys, flood out, fool's errand, freight, furnish, great care, hasten, heraldry, hie, hock, hospitalise, hospitalize, hotfoot, hype up, impeach, impose, impregnate, impute, incriminate, incumbrance, indict, indictment, installation charge, instruct, intrust, invoice, knight, levy, levy, liabilities, libidinal energy, lie, lie down, load, make, make full, misdirection, mission impossible, name, negative charge, nominate, onrush, onset, onslaught, ordinary, ordinary care, overburden, overcharge, overwhelm, paint, pawn, pay, pelt along, pleading, pledge, porterage, positive charge, pother, poundage, premium, presentment, protection, provide, providence, psych up, race, rate, reasonable care, recharge, recharge, reload, render, repute, request, require, rocket fuel, rocket propellant, rocket propellent, roundel, rush, rush, rush along, saturate, service charge, set, shoot up, shot, slander, slight care, smear, smirch, soak, speed, stowage, sully, supply, surcharge, surcharge, take, take aim, tankage, tax, tithe, train, transfer, transportation, trouble, trust, undercharge, undercharge, undercharge, upset, water-rate, weight, weight down

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