- [countable, uncountable] the amount of money that somebody asks for goods and services
- admission charges
- charge for something We have to make a small charge for refreshments.
- Delivery is free of charge.
Extra ExamplesTopics Moneyb1- All changes will incur a charge.
- The company will deliver free of charge.
- The hotel operates a bus service to the beach for a small charge.
- There is no charge for cashing traveller's cheques.
- They agreed to waive the cancellation charges.
- This service is available at a nominal charge.
- We make a small charge for wrapping your gift.
- a charge on company profits
- The museum has introduced a £3 admission charge.
- (British English) There is a quarterly standing charge (= an amount of money that you pay in order to use a service, such as gas or water).
- They guarantee that there are no hidden fees and charges.
- parking charges
- Trained coaches will provide support at no extra charge.
- What's that $30 charge on your credit card bill?
- For orders over £30, you don't have to pay the delivery charge.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- heavy
- high
- nominal
- …
- impose
- introduce
- levy
- …
- at a charge
- for a charge
- charge for
- …
- free of charge
Want to learn more?
Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.
- [countable] (North American English, informal) a charge account
- Would you like to put that on your charge?
- ‘Are you paying cash?’ ‘No, it'll be a charge.’
- [uncountable] a position of having control over somebody/something; responsibility for somebody/something
- She has charge of the day-to-day running of the business.
- He took charge of the farm after his father's death.
- in charge of somebody/something They left the au pair in charge of the children for a week.
- in somebody's charge I'm leaving the school in your charge.
Extra Examples- We need somebody to take charge of the financial side.
- The conductor has overall charge of the train.
- The child is under my charge until her mother returns.
- Stephen will resume sole charge for the time being.
- She took personal charge of the files.
- John has been put in charge of marketing.
- I need to feel more in charge of my life.
- He heroically gave his life to save the baby in his charge.
- the police officers in charge of the investigation
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- overall
- personal
- sole
- …
- have
- take
- place somebody in
- …
- in charge (of somebody/something)
- in somebody’s charge
- under somebody’s charge
- …
- [countable] (formal or humorous) a person that you have responsibility for and care for
- [countable, uncountable] an official claim made by the police that somebody has committed a crime
- criminal charges
- a murder/an assault charge
- charge of something a charge of theft/rape/attempted murder
- He will be sent back to England to face a charge of (= to be on trial for) armed robbery.
- Both men deny the charges.
- charge against somebody/something They decided to drop the charges against the newspaper and settle out of court.
- without charge After being questioned by the police, she was released without charge.
Collocations Criminal justiceCriminal justiceBreaking the law- break/violate/obey/uphold the law
- be investigated/arrested/tried for a crime/a robbery/fraud
- be arrested/ (especially North American English) indicted/convicted on charges of rape/fraud/(especially US English) felony charges
- be arrested on suspicion of arson/robbery/shoplifting
- be accused of/be charged with murder/(especially North American English) homicide/four counts of fraud
- face two charges of indecent assault
- admit your guilt/liability/responsibility (for something)
- deny the allegations/claims/charges
- confess to a crime
- grant/be refused/be released on/skip/jump bail
- stand/await/bring somebody to/come to/be on trial
- take somebody to/come to/settle something out of court
- face/avoid/escape prosecution
- seek/retain/have the right to/be denied access to legal counsel
- hold/conduct/attend/adjourn a hearing/trial
- sit on/influence/persuade/convince the jury
- sit/stand/appear/be put/place somebody in the dock
- plead guilty/not guilty to a crime
- be called to/enter (British English) the witness box
- take/put somebody on the stand/(North American English) the witness stand
- call/subpoena/question/cross-examine a witness
- give/hear the evidence against/on behalf of somebody
- raise/withdraw/overrule an objection
- reach a unanimous/majority verdict
- return/deliver/record a verdict of not guilty/unlawful killing/accidental death
- convict/acquit the defendant of the crime
- secure a conviction/your acquittal
- lodge/file an appeal
- appeal (against)/challenge/uphold/overturn a conviction/verdict
- pass sentence on somebody
- carry/face/serve a seven-year/life sentence
- receive/be given the death penalty
- be sentenced to ten years (in prison/jail)
- carry/impose/pay a fine (of $3 000)/a penalty (of 14 years' imprisonment)
- be imprisoned/jailed for drug possession/fraud/murder
- do/serve time/ten years
- be sent to/put somebody in/be released from jail/prison
- be/put somebody/spend X years on death row
- be granted/be denied/break (your) parole
Extra ExamplesTopics Law and justiceb2- fraud/corruption/felony charges
- He has admitted the murder charge.
- He was found guilty on a reduced charge of assault.
- She appeared in court on charges of kidnapping and assault.
- She is almost certain to face criminal charges.
- The charges against you have been dropped.
- The company agreed to pay $20 million to settle insider-trading charges.
- The company has managed to avoid criminal charges in this case.
- The court dismissed the charge against him.
- a charge of armed robbery
- charges relating to the embezzlement of public funds
- new charges alleging the misuse of funds
- to be detained/held/released without charge
- The investigation resulted in criminal charges against three police officers.
- He was arrested on a charge of murder.
- They had pleaded guilty to the charge at Swansea Crown Court.
- She was convicted of five charges under the Official Secrets Act.
- He admitted seven charges of attempted murder.
- The Court dismissed all charges.
- charges of assault/murder
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- grave
- heavy
- serious
- …
- bring
- file
- lay
- …
- allege something
- sheet
- on a/the charge
- without charge
- charge against
- …
- bring charges (against somebody)
- prefer charges (against somebody)
- press charges (against somebody)
- …
- [countable] a statement accusing somebody of doing something wrong or bad synonym allegation
- She rejected the charge that the story was untrue.
- Be careful you don't leave yourself open to charges of political bias.
Extra Examples- He accused the government of fabricating the charges for political reasons.
- The charges will be difficult to prove.
- The prime minister dismissed the charge that he had misled Parliament.
- She defended herself against charges of racism.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- grave
- heavy
- serious
- …
- bring
- file
- lay
- …
- allege something
- sheet
- on a/the charge
- without charge
- charge against
- …
- bring charges (against somebody)
- prefer charges (against somebody)
- press charges (against somebody)
- …
- [countable, uncountable] the amount of electricity that is put into a battery or carried by a substance
- a positive/negative charge
- [uncountable] the act of putting electricity into a battery; the electricity in a battery
- on charge He put his phone on charge.
- My laptop had run out of charge.
- [countable] a sudden rush or violent attack, for example by soldiers, wild animals or players in some sports
- He led the charge down the field.
Extra Examples- Allen led the charge, but could they get a goal back?
- The bugle sounded the charge.
- They were driven back by a police baton charge.
- (figurative) Young people are leading the charge to clean up the city.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- baton
- cavalry
- lead
- [countable] the amount of explosive needed to fire a gun or make an explosion see also depth charge
- [singular] the power to cause strong feelings
- the emotional charge of the piano piece
- a film in which every scene carries an emotional charge
- [singular] (formal) a task or duty
- His charge was to obtain specific information.
money
responsibility
of crime/something wrong
electricity
rush/attack
explosive
strong feeling
task
Word OriginMiddle English (in the general senses ‘to load’ and ‘a load’), from Old French charger (verb), charge (noun), from late Latin carricare, carcare ‘to load’, from Latin carrus ‘wheeled vehicle’.
Idioms
See charge in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee charge in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishbring/press/lay/prefer charges against somebody
- (law) to accuse somebody formally of a crime so that there can be a trial in court
- Police have brought a charge of dangerous driving against the man.
- Many victims of crime are reluctant to press charges against their attackers.
- She laid charges against the firm for not complying with the regulations.
get a charge out of something
- (North American English) to get a strong feeling of excitement or pleasure from something
- I get a real charge out of working hard and seeing good results.
lead the charge
- to be the first to make the effort to do something new
- Denmark, Norway and Sweden are united in leading the charge to a cash-free economy.
Check pronunciation:
charge