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to charge

to charge

996 4.2
Officially accuse someone of a crime
  • verb
  • /tʃɑrdʒ/
  • Formal
: acusar de
  • Jason, you've been charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree.
  • charged with a crime
  • charged with fraud
  • charged with murder

But Christian B, he was charged for two rapes.

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Examples

  • Please do not harass this department again or you'll find yourself charged with obstruction of justice.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • The plaintiff has charged that the defendant, Mr. Gable, took advantage of her generosity.

  • I could be charged and have to do jail time.

  • So thousands of them get arrested and charged, guilty or innocent.

  • We, the jury, find the defendant guilty as charged.

  • I now charge this man, Thomas Jordan, with high treason.

  • You're being charged with violating Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act.

  • Some of his bodyguards were also arrested and charged with committing terrorist acts.

    Academic text (2015)
  • When the warrant was executed, marijuana was discovered and Jardines was charged with cannabis trafficking.

    Academic text (2017)
  • The police have officially charged him with robbery after reviewing the evidence.

Synonyms

to accuse
vsto charge
∞ 2.7

Say that someone did something wrong or illegal

is the formal official act carried out by legal authorities
to indict
vsto charge
  • Formal
252 8.0

To officially accuse someone of a serious crime in court

is a general formal claim of wrongdoing not limited to severe crimes
to inculpate
vsto charge
  • Formal
1 9.9

To say someone is guilty of a crime

is a formal official claim of wrongdoing backed by legal process
to criminate
vsto charge
  • Archaic
1 9.9

To say someone committed a crime, for example in court

is the broader formal action not tied to strict legal procedure

Antonyms

to exonerate
  • Formal
77 8.2

To say officially that someone is not guilty of a crime

to absolve
  • Formal
42 7.2

Make someone officially free from blame, guilt, or responsibility

Idioms

You do not have to pay for it

1 7.8

Has control and confidence when leading others

Phrasal Verbs

101 3.5

Start to control a group or situation and lead others

12 3.5

To connect a battery or device to electricity so it has power

to charge up
  • Informal
7 4.8

To make people feel excited and ready to act

4 7.0

To enjoy something and feel excited by it

Plug a phone into a charger to make the battery work again

To accept responsibility for and control someone or something

1 4.1

To move quickly and forcefully forward across a playing field in sports to try to score

Compounds

75 4.7

A formal claim in court that someone killed another person

14 3.2

A card that lets you buy things and must be paid in full each month

electric charge
  • Specialized
14 3.9

A quality in objects that makes them pull together or push apart, called positive and negative

8 3.9

An extra fee each person pays to enter a restaurant or club, not for food and drink

explosive charge
  • Specialized
7 4.2

An amount of material placed to blow up at one time

An extra amount added to a bill to pay for the staff who served you

depth charge
  • Specialized
6 8.1

A bomb that explodes underwater at a set depth to destroy submarines

An account at a store that lets you buy now and pay later

positive charge
  • Specialized
4 3.9

An electrical state when an object has fewer electrons than protons

negative charge
  • Specialized
4 4.1

A state when an object has more electrons than protons and so attracts positive objects, for example a rubbed balloon

3 5.4

A written list of charges and arrests at a police station

electrostatic charge
  • Specialized
2 6.2

A buildup of electricity on the surface of an object that does not let it move

2 9.0

A diplomat who acts as head of an embassy when the ambassador is away

A fee you pay to enter a place or event

dynamite charge
  • Specialized
1 6.1

An amount of dynamite set to explode and break rock or buildings

charge plate
  • Archaic
1 8.4

A small metal or plastic plate that people use like an early credit card to pay for goods

ionic charge
  • Specialized
1 5.7

The electric charge an atom has after it gains or loses electrons

A small fee for packing and sending an order

A fee paid for a plane landing, take-off, parking, or use of passenger areas at an airport

Money paid for putting equipment or services in place and making them ready

fixed charge
  • Specialized
1 3.7

A regular payment that does not change when business changes, like rent or insurance

carrying charge
  • Specialized
1 6.8

The cost of keeping goods or assets in storage over time

carrying charge
  • Specialized
1 6.9

A fee charged for keeping an unpaid balance on an account

charge unit
  • Specialized
1 5.6

A standard amount used to measure electric charge, like the coulomb

A fee you pay for returning a rented car to a different place

1 5.1

The total electric charge in a closed system stays the same

1 8.9

An explosive inside a bomb or shell that breaks it open

A mass attack, especially by Japanese soldiers in World War II, where they rush the enemy while shouting 'banzai'

depreciation charge
  • Specialized
1 6.7

An amount companies record each year as an expense to show equipment loses value

1 7.5

A payment plan that lets you keep owing money and pay over time

1 9.2

A soldier who stays on duty after hours to deal with problems and visitors

1 3.5

An amount of money residents pay regularly to cover shared building costs like cleaning and repairs

A way to buy now at a shop and pay later up to a set limit you can repay anytime

The cost for each item or unit used

9.9

A machine that speeds up ions so they leave a hot gas called plasma after swapping electrons

8.7

A device that throws explosive charges into the sea to attack submarines from a ship

7.0

A tax on products harmful to the environment to make people use them less

How Strongly

to prosecute
403 6.1
to indict
  • Formal
252 8.0
to charge
  • Formal
996 4.2
to criminate
  • Archaic
1 9.9
to allege
  • Literature
218 5.3
to suggest
∞ 1.6
to hint
119 2.0

Surface Forms

charge infinitive
charged past
charged past participle
charging present participle
charges third person singular

Etymology

Charge comes from an old word meaning 'to load', the same idea behind cargo and carry. So to charge someone with a crime is to 'load' them with blame in an official way.