Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Relating to a particular area or neighborhood: "Local" describes something connected to a specific place, such as a town, city, or district, rather than a larger region or country.
   • Restricted to a specific part: In medicine or other contexts, it means affecting or confined to a particular, limited area of the body or a system.

2. Noun:

   • A person from a particular area: A "local" is a person who lives in or is a native of a specific place.
   • A public transport service: A train or bus that stops at all stations or stops on its route.
   • A local anesthetic: A substance that causes loss of feeling in a specific, limited area of the body.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:

  • We love to support local businesses. (This describes businesses operating in the specific area where the speaker lives.)
  • The infection remained local and did not spread. (This indicates the infection was confined to one part of the body.)
  • She follows local news every day. (This refers to news about the specific town or city.)

• Noun:

  • Ask a local for directions to the best restaurant. (This refers to a person who lives in that area.)
  • I take the local to work because it's cheaper. (This refers to a train that makes all stops.)
  • The dentist used a local before filling the cavity. (This refers to a local anesthetic.)

Advanced Usage

• "Local color": Details in a story that give a strong sense of the place where it is set.

  • The author's use of dialect and descriptions of the market added wonderful local color to the novel.

• "Go local": To choose products, services, or experiences from one's immediate area.

  • For our vacation, we decided to go local and stay at a family-run inn.

Variants and Related Words

• Locally (adverb): In a way that relates to or is situated in a particular area.
  • The food is sourced locally.
• Locality (noun): The area or neighborhood where something is situated or where an event occurs.
  • It's a quiet locality with friendly people.
• Localize (verb): To restrict something to a particular place or make it local.
  • Efforts were made to localize the economic impact.

Synonyms

• Adjective: Regional, community, neighborhood, district, municipal.
• Noun: Resident, native, inhabitant; stopper (train).

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Localize to: To be confined or restricted to a specific area.
  • The pain localizes to the lower back.

Related Idioms

• Local yokel: (Informal, sometimes derogatory) A person from a rural area, often implying they are unsophisticated.
  • The city tourists looked down on the local yokels.
• All politics is local: A saying meaning that political success is ultimately dependent on addressing the immediate, practical concerns of one's constituents.
  • The senator never forgot that all politics is local.

Adjective

1. affecting only a restricted part or area of the body
   • local anesthesia
2. of or belonging to or characteristic of a particular locality or neighborhood
   • local customs
   • local schools
   • the local citizens
   • a local point of view
   • local outbreaks of flu
   • a local bus line
3. relating to or applicable to or concerned with the administration of a city or town or district rather than a larger area
   • local taxes
   • local authorities

Noun

1. anesthetic that numbs a particular area of the body
2. public transport consisting of a bus or train that stops at all stations or stops
   • the local seemed to take forever to get to New York