chapter house
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chapter house n a building or room where the priests
connected with a CATHEDRAL meet
,chapter of 'accidents n [S] BrE a number of unfortunate
events coming one after another
char¹ /tʃɑːr||'tʃɑːr/ v -rr- [I;T] to (cause to) become black by
burning: There was nothing left of the house but a few
charred remains.
char² v -rr- [I] BrE old-fash to work as a cleaner in a house,
office, public building etc
char³ n BrE old-fash a CHARWOMAN
char⁴ n [U] BrE old-fash slang tea: a cup of char
char·a·banc /'ʃærəbæŋ/ n BrE old-fash a large comfortable bus
used for pleasure trips
char·ac·ter /'kærəktər/ n 1 [C;U] the combination of quali-
ties which make a particular person, thing, place etc differ-
ent from others; nature: The twins look alike but have very
different characters. | A tendency not to show emotions is
supposed to be part of the British national character. | a man
of good character | When they pulled down the old houses in
the centre of the town, the whole character of the place was
changed. | I can't understand why she did that – it's quite out
of character. (=not at all typical of her behaviour) →
compare CHARACTERISTIC, PERSONALITY 2 [U] a combina-
tion of qualities that are regarded as valuable or admirable,
such as high principles, honesty etc: a woman of great
character | a nice old house with a lot of character 3 [C] a
person in a book, play etc: It's a good story, but I find some of
the characters rather unconvincing. 4 [C] the opinion that
other people have about a person; REPUTATION: a newspaper
story that blackened (=damaged) his character | The defendant
is a man of previous good character. (=does not have a
criminal record) 5 [C] infml a) a person: She's a strange
character. | (derog) Some character just walked up and stole
my bag. b) an odd or humorous person: She's a real
character/quite a character – she has us in fits of laughter. | a
well-known character actor (=one who often plays odd or
humorous people) 6 [C] a letter, mark, or sign used in
writing or printing: a notice printed in Chinese characters |
The characters on my typewriter are too small. | Our new
printer operates at 60 characters per second. 7 [C usually sing.]
fml official position; CAPACITY: He was there in his character as
a town official. 8 [C] old-fash, especially BrE a usually written
statement of a person's abilities; REFERENCE: My employer
gave me a good character.
'character ,actor n an actor who normally plays unusual
characters, rather than the most important characters
'character assassi,nation n [C;U] a cruel and usually
unjust attack on someone's character, especially in print
char·ac·ter·is·tic¹ /ˌkærəktə'rɪstɪk/ adj [of] typical; rep-
resenting a person's or thing's usual character: With charac-
teristic generosity, he offered to buy tickets for all of us. | the
characteristic taste of Italian wine | It's characteristic of her
that she never complained. → opposite UNCHARACTERISTIC
--ally /kli/ adv: She gave a characteristically outspoken
interview.
characteristic² n [of] a special and easily recognized qual-
ity of someone or something; ATTRIBUTE: Good planning is
one of the characteristics of a successful business. → compare
CHARACTER
char·ac·ter·i·za·tion /ˌkærəktəraɪ'zeɪʃn||-tərə-/ n [C;U
(as)] (an example of) the act or skill of characterizing: The
film's characterization of the explorer as selfish and untrust-
worthy is totally false. | She writes exciting stories, but her
characterization is weak.
char·ac·ter·ize also -ise BrE /'kærəktəraɪz/ v [T] 1 to be
characteristic of: An interest in people's deepest feelings char-
acterizes all her writings. | The education system there is
characterized by an emphasis on success in exams. 2 [(as)] to
describe the character of; PORTRAY: Opponents of the law have
characterized it as an attack on free speech. | The hero of the
book is characterized as a person of very strong principles.
char·ac·ter·less /'kærəktəlǝs||-tǝr-/ adj derog not having a
strong character; ordinary: characterless modern houses
cha·rade /ʃə'rɑːd||ʃə'reɪd/ n something which is easily seen
to be false or foolish: The trial was a mere charade; the
verdict of guilty had already been decided.
cha·rades /ʃə'rɑːdz||ʃə'reɪdz/ n [U] a game in which words
are acted by players, often part (SYLLABLE) by part, until other
players can guess the whole word. Charades is played at
parties by adults or children.
char·broil /'tʃɑːbrɔɪl||'tʃɑːr-/ v [I;T] AmE to cook over a very
hot charcoal fire: He charbroiled the steaks on the barbecue.
--ed adj: charbroiled steaks
char·coal /'tʃɑːkǝʊl||'tʃɑːr-/ n [U] (pieces of) the black
substance made by burning wood in a closed container with
little air, used in sticks for drawing with or sometimes as FUEL:
a sketch drawn in charcoal | a charcoal drawing | charcoal
stoves
chard /tʃɑːrd||tʃɑːrd/ also **Swiss chard** n [U] a vegetable
with large juicy leaves and stems
Char·don·nay /'ʃɑːdən)eɪ||ˌʃɑːrdn'eɪ/ n 1 [U] a type of
GRAPE grown for making wine 2 [C;U] a type of white wine
made from Chardonnay grapes and produced in many
countries throughout the world
charge¹ /tʃɑːdʒ||tʃɑːrdʒ/ v 1 [I;T(for)] to ask in payment:
How much do you charge for a double room? | They charge a
heavy tax on imported wine. | This shop doesn't charge for
delivery. | [+obj||(+obj(ǝ))] They tried to charge me £120 for a room
for a night! 2 [T(to)] a) to record (the cost of something) as
someone's debt: Charge the purchases to my account. b) AmE
to buy something with a CREDIT CARD: 'Can you afford that
dress?' 'No, but I'll charge it.' 3 [(at);T] to rush (as if) in
attack: Suddenly the wild animal charged (at) us. | The
children charged into the playground. 4 [T(with)] to bring an
especially criminal charge against; ACCUSE: He was charged
with the robbery/with stealing the jewels. | A man has been
charged in connection with the murder. 5 [T+that;obj] to declare
openly (that something is wrong): The shareholders charged
that the directors had withheld vital information. 6 [T+obj+to
/ with] fml to instruct or command; give as a duty or respon-
sibility: She charged me to look after looking after her
son. 7 [T(with)] a) to load (a gun) b) old use to fill (a glass):
Charge your glasses with wine. 8 [I;T] to (cause to) take
and store electricity: to charge a car battery | If the red light
comes on, it means the battery isn't charging.
charge² n 1 [C;U(for)] the price asked or paid for goods or
service: The admission charge is £5. | interest charges | a 10%
service charge | Is there any charge for having the goods
delivered? (=does it cost anything?) | What are the charges at
this hotel? | The faulty part was replaced free of charge. | BrE
She hadn't got the correct coins for the phone box, so she had to
reverse the charges. (=get the receiver of the call to pay for
it) → see COST (USAGE) 2 [U(of)] a position of care, control, or
responsibility for a person, group, organization etc: I'd like
to speak to the person in charge. | I had to go to a conference
so I left my deputy in charge. | Student nurses should not be
left alone in charge of hospital wards. | She took charge of
the family business when her father died. | The company is
in/under my charge while the director is away. | (fml) He has
charge of the children while his wife is at work. 3 [C] fml a
person (especially a child) or thing for which you are
responsible: I became my uncle's charge (=legally in his care)
after my father's death. | It was a hot day, so the playground
leader bought some ice cream for his little charges. 4 [C(again
of)] an official statement saying that someone is responsible
for a crime; ACCUSATION: He was arrested on a charge of
murder. | The police brought a charge (of murder) against
him. | He faces two charges of theft. (=will have to reply to
them in a court of law) | The police have examined all the
facts, and have decided not to press/prefer charges against
him. (=not to officially charge him) 5 [C] a written or
spoken statement blaming someone for doing something
undesirable or morally wrong; ALLEGATION: The President
tried to counter the charge (=reply to it and prove it to be
false) that his budget favoured the rich. | This policy leaves
him open to charges of (=likely to be blamed for) favouring
the rich. 6 [C] a rushing forceful attack by soldiers, wild
animals etc 7 [C] an amount of explosive to be fired at one
time 8 [C;U] a) (a quantity of) electricity put into a BATTERY
or other electrical apparatus: The battery is on charge. (=
having a charge put into it) b) power or force, especially
feelings: the strong emotional charge of the book | (slang)
They seem to get quite a charge (=a lot of excitement) out of
playing this dangerous game. 9 a property of matter consid-
ered positive or negative from which comes a determination