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Cambridge Dictionary Online

Meaning of local in English

local
adjective
us
/ˈloʊ.kəl/ uk
/ˈləʊ.kəl/
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B1
from, existing in, serving, or responsible for a small area, especially of a country:
a local accent
local issues
a local newspaper/radio station
Most of the local population depend on fishing for their income.
Our children all go to the local school.
Many local stores will be forced to close if the new supermarket is built.
limited to a particular part of the body:
a local anesthetic
local swelling
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SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Towns & regions: environments & localities
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local
noun [ C ]
us
/ˈloʊ.kəl/ uk
/ˈləʊ.kəl/

local noun [C] (PERSON)

C2
a person who lives in the particular small area that you are talking about:
The café is popular with both locals and visitors.
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
People who live or settle somewhere
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local noun [C] (PUB)

UK
a pub near to where a person lives, especially if they often go there to drink:
The George is my local.
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Selling & serving alcoholic drinks
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local noun [C] (VEHICLE)

US
a train or bus that makes all or most of the stops along its route, allowing passengers to get on or off:
the 12:24 local to Poughkeepsie
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Railways: trains & parts of trains
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local noun [C] (ORGANIZATION)

US
a division within a union representing people from a particular area
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Industrial relations
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(Definition of local from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

local | Intermediate English

local
adjective [ not gradable ]
us
/ˈloʊ·kəl/

local adjective [not gradable] (AREA)

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from, existing in, or serving a particular place or small area:
the local population
the local newspaper
local phone calls
local government
medical Local also means limited to a particular part of the body:
a local anesthetic

localize

verb [ I/T ] us
/ˈloʊ·kəˌlɑɪz/
[ I ] The infection seems to have localized in the foot.

locally

adverb [ not gradable ] us
/ˈloʊ·kə·li/
locally grown vegetables
local
noun [ C ]
us
/ˈloʊ·kəl/

local noun [C] (VEHICLE)

a train or bus that stops at all or most of the places on its route where passengers can get on or off

local noun [C] (AREA)

a person who lives in the particular small area you are talking about:
If you’re lost and need directions, just ask one of the locals.
(Definition of local from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

local | Business English

local
adjective [ usually before noun ]
uk
/ˈləʊkəl/ us
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from or connected with a particular area:
The importation of goods from the United States has reduced growth in the local market.
US firms pay bonuses in dollars, in contrast to European rivals which tend to pay in local currency.
a local business/company/firm He has a four-month contract fixing computers at a local company.
This is a hugely serious problem at the local level, and we need to do something about it.

See also

locally
domestic
local
noun [ C ]
US
uk
/ˈləʊkəl/ us
a part of an organization, especially a union (= workers' organization), representing people from a particular area:
The local in Oakland and Macomb has nearly 4,000 members.
(Definition of local from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of local

local
Will they volunteer at a local dance school?
From Huffington Post
Police and local prosecutors are two peas in the same pod.
From New York Daily News
It turns out, some politics might be better off local.
From TIME
He would spend the next weeks and months speaking out in local churches and schools, talking with community groups and elected officials.
From NPR
Never miss out on what's happening in your local schools.
From The Seattle Times
He's not the only local making it to radio.
From The Star-Ledger - NJ.com
The locals were not universally pleased with their new admirer.
From Los Angeles Times
While we know we paid more than a local would have paid for the same property, we were delighted with our deal.
From OregonLive.com
So far this year, local big rig sales are up more than 65 percent.
From Plain Dealer
But officials at the local and state levels aren't interested.
From Buffalo News
All of our local schools have many windows facing the street.
From CNN
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
What is the pronunciation of local?
 

Translations of local

in Chinese (Traditional)
當地的，本地的, 局部的，部分的, 人…
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in Chinese (Simplified)
当地的，本地的, 局部的，部分的, 人…
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in Spanish
local, del barrio, vecino…
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in Portuguese
local, de bairro, morador…
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in more languages
in Marathi
in Japanese
in Turkish
in French
in Catalan
in Dutch
in Tamil
in Hindi
in Gujarati
in Danish
in Swedish
in Malay
in German
in Norwegian
in Urdu
in Ukrainian
in Telugu
in Bengali
in Czech
in Indonesian
in Thai
in Vietnamese
in Polish
in Korean
in Italian
स्थानिक, तुम्ही बोलत आहात त्या विशिष्ट छोट्या भागात राहणारी व्यक्ती.…
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地元の, 地元の人々, 地元（じもと）の…
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yöresel, bölgesel, mahallî…
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local/-ale, local, du quartier…
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local, del barri, veí…
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plaatselijk…
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ஒரு சிறிய பகுதியிலிருந்து, குறிப்பாக ஒரு நாட்டில் இருக்கும், சேவை செய்யும் அல்லது பொறுப்பானவர்களிடமிருந்து…
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स्थानीय, लोकल, स्थानीय व्यक्ति…
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સ્થાનિક…
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lokal, stedlig…
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lokal, orts-…
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tempatan…
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Orts-……
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lokal, lokal-, på stedet…
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مقامی, مقامی باشندہ…
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місцевий…
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స్థానిక/ చిన్న ప్రాంతం, ప్రత్యేకించి ఒక దేశంలో, ప్రస్తుతం ఉన్న…
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স্থানীয়…
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místní…
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lokal…
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ประจำท้องถิ่น…
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địa phương…
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miejscowy, miejscow-y/a…
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현지의, 현지…
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locale, residente, persona del luogo…
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local
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local anesthetic
local area network
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