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:
Officials have worked for more than a decade to try to combat those issues and promote the area as a more family-friendly locale.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2026
Swift has ties to several US cities and guesswork about the locale has reached fever pitch.
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026
Lee’s return to public view was aided by locale.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
Fortunately, his North Carolina home is the perfect locale for a “semi” retirement, providing a relaxing and calm sanctuary that was designed to optimize lake views from nearly every room.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 20, 2025
At one locale in the American Southwest is a set of three upright slabs which were moved from their original position about 1,000 years ago.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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
The McCartneys decided that they’d like to travel to exotic locales to record, asking their record company for a list of their studios in countries that weren’t the UK.
From Salon ● Jun. 23, 2026
Aircraft are a favorite target for revenue-greedy locales.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
Yet Austin has found a balance that other U.S. locales haven’t.
From Barron's ● May 31, 2026
This opened wide vistas of scenes and locales that I did not so much visit in my reading, but rather possessed.
From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers
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.
