locale
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of locale
1765–75; alteration of earlier local < French: noun use of the adj. See local
Explanation
A locale is the specific place where something happens. If you dream of a trip to some tropical locale, Hawaii, Belize, and Costa Rica might all be on your wish list. When you choose a locale for a big sci-fi convention, you need to make sure there's enough room for all the participants. And when you decide on a locale for an intimate party, you might stick to a cozy spot like your own living room. Locale comes from the French local, and it was originally spelled the same way. The e was eventually added to encourage correct pronunciation, with the emphasis on the last syllable.
Vocabulary lists containing locale
Ghost Squad
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Americanized
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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.
See Examples For:
It wouldn’t be LeBron landing in a more desirable locale.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
Swift has ties to several US cities and guesswork about the locale has reached fever pitch.
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026
The Foo Fighters chose the locale for their series of surprise pop-up shows debuting new material in 2011, right before the venue was renamed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 26, 2025
During its last major preview weekend in May at its old locale, the house said only 1,500 people stopped by.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 17, 2025
But if we wish to find the Earth, we must redirect our course to the remote outskirts of the Galaxy, to an obscure locale near the edge of a distant spiral arm.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
The fact that Aedes mosquitoes keep showing up in new locales does not necessarily mean those places will go on to experience disease outbreaks.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026
Ellis herself—portrayed by the much-honored English actress Sharon D. Clarke—is a specialist of sorts, a crack investigator who parachutes into under-resourced locales to help with cases deemed otherwise unsolvable.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
The calming locales both complement and contradict the plot’s revelations, which are hardly bombshells but do speak to how well-to-do families labor to shove inconvenient skeletons into the closet.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
News in March, the actor said that being able to spend time in both locales had been wonderful for his children, because it effectively gave them a real taste of two totally different lifestyles.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
Whole villages had been imported from Egypt, Algeria, Dahomey, and other far-flung locales, along with their inhabitants.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
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.
