Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary полностью

2 VERB If you characterize someone or something as a particular thing, you describe them as that thing. [FORMAL ] □ [V n + as ] Both companies have characterized the relationship as friendly.

char|ac|ter|less /kæ r I ktə ^r ləs/ ADJ If you describe something as characterless , you mean that it is dull and uninteresting. □  The town is boring and characterless. □  …a bland and characterless meal.

cha r|ac|ter rec|og|ni |tion N‑UNCOUNT Character recognition is a process which allows computers to recognize written or printed characters such as numbers or letters and to change them into a form that the computer can use. [COMPUTING ]

cha|rade /ʃərɑː d, [AM ] -re I d/ (charades )

1 N‑COUNT [usu sing] If you describe someone's actions as a charade , you mean that their actions are so obviously false that they do not convince anyone. [DISAPPROVAL ] □  I wondered why he had gone through the elaborate charade. □ [+ of ] The U.N. at the moment is still trying to maintain the charade of neutrality.

2 N‑UNCOUNT Charades is a game for teams of players in which one team acts a word or phrase, syllable by syllable, until other players guess the whole word or phrase.

char|coal /tʃɑː ^r koʊl/ N‑UNCOUNT Charcoal is a black substance obtained by burning wood without much air. It can be burned as a fuel, and small sticks of it are used for drawing with.

chard /tʃɑː ^r d/ N‑UNCOUNT Chard is a plant with a round root, large leaves, and a thick stalk.

charge ◆◆◆ /tʃɑː ^r dʒ/ (charges , charging , charged )

1 VERB If you charge someone an amount of money, you ask them to pay that amount for something that you have sold to them or done for them. □ [V n] Even local nurseries charge £100 a week. □ [V n + for ] The hospitals charge the patients for every aspirin. □ [V ] Some banks charge if you access your account to determine your balance. □ [V n n] …the architect who charged us a fee of seven hundred and fifty pounds.

2 VERB To charge something to a person or organization means to tell the people providing it to send the bill to that person or organization. To charge something to someone's account means to add it to their account so they can pay for it later. □ [V n + to ] Go out and buy a pair of glasses, and charge it to us. □ [be V -ed + to ] All transactions have been charged to your account.

3 N‑COUNT A charge is an amount of money that you have to pay for a service. □  We can arrange this for a small charge. □ [+ of ] Customers who arrange overdrafts will face a monthly charge of £5.

4 N‑COUNT A charge is a formal accusation that someone has committed a crime. □  He may still face criminal charges. □ [+ of ] They appeared at court yesterday to deny charges of murder.

5 VERB When the police charge someone, they formally accuse them of having done something illegal. □ [V n] They have the evidence to charge him. □ [V n + with ] Police have charged Mr Bell with murder.

6 VERB If you charge someone with doing something wrong or unpleasant, you publicly say that they have done it. [WRITTEN ] □ [V n + with ] He charged the minister with lying about the economy.

7 N‑UNCOUNT If you take charge of someone or something, you make yourself responsible for them and take control over them. If someone or something is in your charge , you are responsible for them. □ [+ of ] A few years ago Bacryl took charge of the company. □ [+ of ] I have been given charge of this class. □  They would never forget their time in his charge.

8 PHRASE If you are in charge in a particular situation, you are the most senior person and have control over something or someone. □  Who's in charge here? □ [+ of ] …the Swiss governess in charge of the smaller children.