décharger

Décharger is a French verb with several related meanings, all centered on the idea of emptying, releasing, or relieving a burden, whether material or abstract. It can denote the physical act of removing goods from a vehicle or vessel, the discharge of energy, or the removal of a duty or responsibility.

In the context of transport, décharger means to unload cargo from a ship, truck, train, or aircraft. The noun déchargement refers to the process of unloading, and the place where it occurs is often a dock or quay.

In administrative or legal usage, être déchargé de ses fonctions or décharger quelqu’un de ses obligations means to be relieved of duties or responsibilities.

In electronics and energy, décharger denotes draining energy from a device, such as décharger une pile or décharger un condensateur. The corresponding noun décharge denotes the discharge or loss of charge.

In firearms, décharger a weapon can mean to discharge or fire it, or simply to unload ammunition from a gun, depending on the context.

In everyday language, se décharger sur quelqu’un means to vent one’s emotions onto another person, and the verb can also describe the act of unloading an emotional burden.

Grammatically, décharger is a regular -er verb: je décharge, tu décharges, il décharge, nous déchargeons, vous déchargez, ils déchargent; passé composé: déchargé. The noun forms include déchargement and décharge, which also carries the sense of a landfill or waste dump in some usages.