1 B1 informal
To leave somewhere suddenly and energetically.
"She grabbed her bag and charged off down the corridor without saying goodbye."
inseparable
charge off
B2 neutral separable transitive/intransitive
To rush away energetically; or (in finance/accounting) to classify a debt as a loss.
In plain English
To run off quickly somewhere; or (in business) to officially say a debt will never be paid and record it as a loss.
What does "charge off" mean?
3 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
2 B2 idiomatic formal
In accounting or banking, to classify a debt or bad loan as a loss because it is unlikely to be recovered.
"The bank charged off $2 billion in bad loans during the financial crisis."
separable
3 B2 neutral
To assign a cost or expense to a particular account or budget.
"You can charge that hotel bill off to the company's travel account."
separable
Literal vs figurative
Words literally mean
To charge (rush) off in a direction; or to charge (record) something off the books.
Actually means
To run off quickly somewhere; or (in business) to officially say a debt will never be paid and record it as a loss.
Usage tip
Has two very different uses: (1) informal — to rush or dash off somewhere, (2) formal/financial — to record a debt or asset as a loss on financial accounts. The financial sense is common in banking and accounting. Both senses are in use today.
Words that pair with "charge off"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
debt loan loss account balance expense
How to conjugate "charge off"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
charge off
I/you/we/they
3rd person
charges off
he/she/it
Past simple
charged off
yesterday
Past participle
charged off
have + pp
-ing form
charging off
continuous
Hear "charge off" in the wild
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Other ways to say "charge off"
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