local option

American

noun

a right of choice exercised by a minor political division, as a county, especially as to allowing the sale of liquor.

local option British

noun

(esp in Scotland, New Zealand, and the US) the privilege of a municipality, county, etc, to determine by referendum whether a particular activity, esp the sale of liquor, shall be permitted there

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of local option

First recorded in 1875–80

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.

The voter-approved local option levy pays for 800 teaching positions, an advantage few other districts enjoy.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 3, 2023

Fife Council said it was working to explore other options to keep the family together until a more local option becomes available.

From BBC • Apr. 12, 2023

It took courageous and farsighted judges to stand up and say that civil rights are not dispensed in our country by local option.

From Slate • Mar. 29, 2021

Williams’s relationship with Oklahoma goes back further, but especially given pandemic-related uncertainty, he could decide on a local option.

From Washington Post • Jul. 1, 2020

I at length remarked that since my arrival, I had, somewhat to my surprise, learned that "local option" had been adopted in their county.

From Something of Men I Have Known With Some Papers of a General Nature, Political, Historical, and Retrospective by Stevenson, Adlai E. (Adlai Ewing)

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023