charter

/ˈt͡ʃɑːtə/

//ˈt͡ʃɑːtə// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"charter" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“charter” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,834. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,834
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A document issued by some authority, creating a public or private institution, and defining its purposes and privileges.

Corpus desk

Index EN-charter · charter · English

charter · rank #4,834 · 11 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,834
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH certified

Nearest frequency peer: certified (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “charter”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “charter” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

charter vs crater
71% similar
charter vs chaser
71% similar
charter vs chaste
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for charter
PropertyValue
Headwordcharter
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈt͡ʃɑːtə/
Letters7
Frequency rank#4,834
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “charter”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).charterlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “certified” (#4,833), “chef” (#4,835), “casual” (#4,832). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “charter” is #4,834. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around charter (IPA /ˈt͡ʃɑːtə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #4,834 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for charter, with forms such as "cahrter", "ccharter", and "charetr". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "crater", "chaser", "chaste", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English charter, chartre, borrowed from Old French chartre, from Latin chartula (diminutive of charta). See chart. Doublet of chartula. The correct English form is charter, spelled C-H-A-R-T-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A document issued by some authority, creating a public or private institution, and defining its purposes and privileges.
  2. 2
    A similar document conferring rights and privileges on a person, corporation etc.
  3. 3
    A contract for the commercial leasing of a vessel, or space on a vessel.
  4. 4
    The temporary hiring or leasing of a vehicle.
  5. 5
    A deed (legal contract).
  6. 6
    A special privilege, immunity, or exemption.
  7. 7
    a provision whose unintended consequence would be to encourage an undesirable activity

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how charter appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. My mother, / Who has a charter to extol her blood, / When she does praise me, grieves me.
  2. In what Derbyshire police say amounts to a "thieves' charter," three judges ruled that because the car's identity had been changed it was impossible to trace the legal owner and therefore the person found in possession of it was entitled to keep it.

Etymology

From Middle English charter, chartre, borrowed from Old French chartre, from Latin chartula (diminutive of charta). See chart. Doublet of chartula.

Synonyms

chirograph

This word in other languages

flete(Español)charte(Français)Charta(Deutsch)procuração(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cahrter
  • ccharter
  • charetr
  • charrter
  • charterr
  • chartre
  • chartter
  • chatrer
  • chharter
  • chrater
  • hcarter

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of charter - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

cahrter2ccharter1charetr2charrter1charterr1chartre2chartter1chatrer2
Edit distance from "charter"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "charter"?
"charter" is spelled C-H-A-R-T-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈt͡ʃɑːtə/.
What does "charter" mean?
As a noun, "charter" means: A document issued by some authority, creating a public or private institution, and defining its purposes and privileges.
What words are commonly confused with "charter"?
"charter" is commonly confused with "crater", "chaser", "chaste". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "charter"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "charter" is /ˈt͡ʃɑːtə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "charter"?
From Middle English charter, chartre, borrowed from Old French chartre, from Latin chartula (diminutive of charta). See chart. Doublet of chartula. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "charter", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

carries#4,831blessed#4,826backing#4,823earning#4,852

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

civilian11 variantsCampbell11 variantsgraphic11 variantsjumping11 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list