local

American  

[loh-kuhl] / ˈloʊ kəl /

adjective

1. pertaining to or characterized by place or position in space; spatial.

2. pertaining to, characteristic of, or restricted to a particular place or particular places.

   a local custom.

3. pertaining to a city, town, or small district rather than an entire state or country.

   local transportation.

4. stopping at most or all stations.

   a local train.

5. pertaining to or affecting a particular part or particular parts, as of a physical system or organism.

   a local disease.

6. Medicine/Medical. (of anesthesia or an anesthetic) affecting only a particular part or area of the body, without concomitant loss of consciousness, as distinguished from general anesthesia.

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noun

1. a local train, bus, etc.

2. a newspaper item of local interest.

3. a local branch of a union, fraternity, etc.

4. a local anesthetic.

5. Often locals.

   1. a local person or resident.

      primarily of interest to locals.

   2. a local athletic team.

      the locals versus the state champions.

6. stamp.

7. British Informal. a neighborhood pub.

verb (used without object)

1. Informal. to travel by or take a local train or the like.

local British  

/ ˈləʊkəl /

adjective

1. characteristic of or associated with a particular locality or area

2. of, concerned with, or relating to a particular place or point in space

3. med of, affecting, or confined to a limited area or part Compare general systemic

4. (of a train, bus, etc) stopping at all stations or stops

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noun

1. a train, bus, etc, that stops at all stations or stops

2. an inhabitant of a specified locality

3. informal a pub close to one's home or place of work

4. med short for local anaesthetic

5. an item of local interest in a newspaper

6. a local or regional branch of an association

7. a telephone extension

Other Word Forms

• interlocal
  adjective
• interlocally
  adverb
• localness
  noun
• nonlocal
  adjective
• nonlocally
  adverb
• superlocal
  adjective
• superlocally
  adverb
• unlocal
  adjective
• unlocally
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of local

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English word from Late Latin word locālis. See locus, -al ¹

Explanation

The adjective local describes something related a specific place. The potholes on a certain street in Pringle, Pennsylvania, might merit a story in the local newspaper. Locate, location, locale — they all look and sound like local thanks to the Latin root locus, which means "place." Something that's local is limited to a specific place, like a particular neighborhood or city. Local also can describe places that aren't, well, places — they're more like areas. For example, a dentist might administer a local anesthetic to numb your mouth when filling a cavity. That means the anesthetic acts only on a specific area of the body.

Example Sentences

And maybe that’s local to L.A., we’ve had not the best of times.

From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026

Massie’s long bench of surrogates also features a bevy of local elected officials showing up to endorse him.

From Slate • May 19, 2026

He said the fact that they had worked for three emergency services between them over the years was also a source of some local amusement.

From BBC • May 19, 2026

The company, currently valued at around 18 billion euros, was Germany's biggest gas importer when it was nationalised, and is a key supplier to industrial companies and local authorities.

From Barron's • May 19, 2026

Not a local call, but if someone wanted to reach me at Central, it wouldn’t be impossible for them to come and call from Washington.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

Related Words

• provincial
• regional