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.

---

noun

locals plural

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

---

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

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• locals
  plural

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

With the help of local volunteers and wardens, who monitor breeding sites 24 hours a day, the future of the little tern is looking much brighter than it did back in 1986.

From BBC • Jul. 10, 2026

A total of 12 cases of H5 bird flu have been confirmed in Australia since June but all of them were in migratory sea birds, not local wildlife.

From Barron's • Jul. 10, 2026

Signals that the Japanese government wants more investments at home, including from its massive pension fund, lifted local government bonds and the yen.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 10, 2026

Earlier this week, Mayor Bass, Councilmember Ysabel Jurado and several local leaders met with company executives looking for answers as the cleanup is underway.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 10, 2026

Someone calling from a long distance would have to dial their local central switchboard.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

Related Words

• provincial
• regional