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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

The heads of two of the nine national organizations that administer the resettlement program for the State Department's Office of Refugee Resettlement have been blunt in their criticism of the local option policy.

From Salon • Oct. 24, 2019

He tells us that it was a kind of "local option" flood—a little wet for that part of the country.

From The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 5 (of 12) Dresden Edition?Discussions by Ingersoll, Robert Green

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