locale
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of locale
1765–75; alteration of earlier local < French: noun use of the adj. See local
Explanation
A locale is the specific place where something happens. If you dream of a trip to some tropical locale, Hawaii, Belize, and Costa Rica might all be on your wish list. When you choose a locale for a big sci-fi convention, you need to make sure there's enough room for all the participants. And when you decide on a locale for an intimate party, you might stick to a cozy spot like your own living room. Locale comes from the French local, and it was originally spelled the same way. The e was eventually added to encourage correct pronunciation, with the emphasis on the last syllable.
Vocabulary lists containing locale
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Americanized
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
For those who make a living in tourism, the Timber fire marks nature’s latest blow to the beloved, yet often plagued, coastal locale.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
It wouldn’t be LeBron landing in a more desirable locale.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
And why play at a conventional locale from the current era?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
Swift has ties to several US cities and guesswork about the locale has reached fever pitch.
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026
At one locale in the American Southwest is a set of three upright slabs which were moved from their original position about 1,000 years ago.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
The fact that Aedes mosquitoes keep showing up in new locales does not necessarily mean those places will go on to experience disease outbreaks.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026
Across the country, some locales are starting to ban smartglasses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
News in March, the actor said that being able to spend time in both locales had been wonderful for his children, because it effectively gave them a real taste of two totally different lifestyles.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
The McCartneys decided that they’d like to travel to exotic locales to record, asking their record company for a list of their studios in countries that weren’t the UK.
From Salon ● Jun. 23, 2026
This opened wide vistas of scenes and locales that I did not so much visit in my reading, but rather possessed.
From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
