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local

adjective · noun · adverb

Simple meaning

From or in a nearby location.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

lohkuhl

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈloʊkəl

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adjective

  1. From or in a nearby location.

  2. Descended from an indigenous population.

  3. computingof a resource

    Connected directly to a particular computer, processor, etc.; able to be accessed offline.

  4. computingof a variable or identifier

    Having limited scope (either lexical or dynamic); only accessible within a certain portion of a program.

noun

  1. A person who lives in or near a given place.

  2. british

    One's nearest or regularly frequented public house or bar.

  3. A branch of a nationwide organization such as a trade union.

adverb

  1. In the local area; within a city, state, country, etc.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A1 · Beginner
Frequency
Very Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: From or in a nearby location.

Used this way, local is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Descended

local population

Algebra

local conditions

Other combinations

local governmentlocal authoritylocal levellocal communitylocal arealocal school

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • localitynounDerived noun

    A surrounding or nearby region.

  • locallyadverbDerived adverb

    By a particular locality.

  • localizeverbDerived verb

    Identify the location or place of.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • local governmentnounCompound term

    The government of a local area.

  • local optionnounCompound term

    Freedom of a local government to determine by popular vote the applicability of a controversial law in their jurisdiction.

  • local oscillatornounCompound term

    An oscillator whose output heterodynes with the incoming radio signal to produce sum and difference tones.

  • local post officenounCompound term

    A local branch where postal services are available.

  • local roadnounCompound term

    A street that is primarily used to gain access to the property bordering it.

  • local streetnounCompound term

    A street that is primarily used to gain access to the property bordering it.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.