I am unable to find the meaning of the word, charette. It's use in context, "The City will conduct a charette on 01/24/01 at the church on Bees Ferry Road." I assume it means a meeting, but have been unable to find it in any English or French dictionary. FYI: the correspondence this was found in originated from Charleston, SC., USA.

Hi jadezal,

Are you sure there was not two Rs in the word? In French we mainly use the word charrette to describe a two-wheeled cart used to transport heavy loads, but it can also mean a work spurt (like overtime) that you do to complete a project on time. In the second context it is used mainly in the architectural and communications fields.

Read the paragraphs around the sentence you submitted to see if the second meaning applies.

Webster's unabridged recognizes both spellings, and defines "charette" as an intense final effort by architectural students to complete their solutions to a given architectural problem in an allotted time or the period in which such an effort is made.

it is also (rarely) used generally for a final, intense effort to finish any project. (probably by former architectural students ;)

an intense final effort by architectural students to complete their solutions to a given architectural problem in an allotted time or the period in which such an effort is made.

Well, now I know what awaits me next year. I've heard that the University of Cincinnati's architecture program is quite tough. Guess that's why it's ranked 3rd in the nation.