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I was trying to think of alternatives to 'charging' a phone or ipad or other electric device, but have come up short. Obviously, the word has multiple meanings but it seems there are few/no alternatives to this particular definition of it.
I've searched Thesaurus.com, Powerthesaurus.com, Oxford among others but was unable to find alternatives.
Any suggestions on alternative words for "Store electrical energy in (a battery or battery-operated device)"? (Oxford definition)
I recommend still using the word charge, but you can add some variety by changing the verb tense and possibly using the noun form. Also mixing up with recharge as suggested in a comment. A few possibilities:
This feels like enough variety to me for an instruction manual or technical document.
It's not perfect but in some cases you could use top up. This really assumes charging from an only partially drained state, but is used more broadly. For phones it may be a little confusing as "top up" can also apply to credit; any confusion can be minimised with a little context; some other batteries need topping up with water, but again context helps.
Some examples of real-world use:
After a comment I wondered if this was specific to British English, or at least uncommon in AMerican English. Google initially seemed to confirm that - but Google knows where I am and gives me results biased towards British sites. DuckDuckGo on the other hand gave me user manuals aimed at users both sides of the Atlantic.
If you're looking for something informal, you can use rejuice. You might not find this one in dictionaries, but its meaning is clear, since battery power is sometimes called "juice". Here are some examples of it in use:
That never happened, but I have missed countless events because I'm an idiot and almost never remember to rejuice my battery at night.
Laughing at My Nightmare
Frustrated, I searched through the store thinking they must sell (ungodly expensive) battery packs or something to rejuice my phone.
Electric Addition to WDW Tomorrowland makes Charging Phones a Breeze
I won't use a Mophie because I find it too heavy, so whenever I need to rejuice my phone on the run, this is my go-to portable charger.
Mother’s Day ‘Mom Thrive Guide’ With A Giveaway!
I would suggest 'energizing' since the act of 'charging' involves the input of energy. Electrical energy is used to initiate a chemical reaction within the battery.
- transitive. Physics. To increase the energy of (a body or system); (in later use) esp. to impart energy to (matter, esp. a particle); to cause (a particle) to move into a higher energy state.
Replenish.
Which implies that whatever was there before is now less than it was, and needs more of whatever it is to Replenish that whatever.
Though we generally think of refuel in terms of the liquid stuff you put it your car, it should equally apply to refueling a fire with wood, or a battery with chemical bonds.
Although it is used in reference to someone, how about using capacitate? You are making the electronic device capable again; and I know it is a long shot, but capacitors are used to store electrical energy.
how about to load, Elektrische Ladung is the German equivalent of the physical Electric Charge Q.
