local government
Americannoun
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local governments
plural
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the administration of the civic affairs of a city, town, or district by its inhabitants rather than by the state or country at large.
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the governing body of a town or district.
noun
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government of the affairs of counties, towns, etc, by locally elected political bodies
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the US equivalent of local authority
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of local government
First recorded in 1835–45
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.
Word soon spread about local government officials who earned more picking mushrooms for the 10 weeks of matsutake season—from mid-July to late September—than from their entire year’s salary.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
"Boats carrying armed Houthi fighters reached Mayyun Island after government forces withdrew from it yesterday," the local government official told AFP, referring to an island also known as Perim.
From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026
Trade Representative’s office to remove Canadian firms from the agency’s so-called “Multiple Award Schedules,” which connect federal, state and local government agencies with suppliers of a wide variety of products.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
An increase in employment during the final month of the summer in restaurants and bars, as well as in local government education ahead of the new school year, was behind the rebound.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
The meeting between the highest local government official and militant black leaders was itself an important concession, an act of good faith on Grabarek’s part that surprised the black community.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
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.
