LOCAL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does local mean? 

• LOCAL (noun)
  The noun LOCAL has 2 senses:

1. public transport consisting of a bus or train that stops at all stations or stops

2. anesthetic that numbs a particular area of the body

  Familiarity information: LOCAL used as a noun is rare.

• LOCAL (adjective)
  The adjective LOCAL has 3 senses:

1. relating to or applicable to or concerned with the administration of a city or town or district rather than a larger area

2. of or belonging to or characteristic of a particular locality or neighborhood

3. affecting only a restricted part or area of the body

  Familiarity information: LOCAL used as an adjective is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• LOCAL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Public transport consisting of a bus or train that stops at all stations or stops

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Context example:

the local seemed to take forever to get to New York

Hypernyms ("local" is a kind of...):

public transport (conveyance for passengers or mail or freight)

Antonym:

express (public transport consisting of a fast train or bus that makes only a few scheduled stops)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Anesthetic that numbs a particular area of the body

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

local; local anaesthetic; local anesthetic; topical anaesthetic; topical anesthetic

Hypernyms ("local" is a kind of...):

anaesthetic; anaesthetic agent; anesthetic; anesthetic agent (a drug that causes temporary loss of bodily sensations)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "local"):

anesthyl (a mixture of methyl and ethyl chloride; sprayed on as a local anesthetic)

antipruritic (a substance that relieves or prevents itching)

benzocaine; ethyl aminobenzoate (a white crystalline ester used as a local anesthetic)

butacaine; butacaine sulfate (a white crystalline ester that is applied to mucous membranes as a local anesthetic)

ethyl chloride (a colorless flammable gas used as a local surface anesthetic)

Lidocaine; Xylocaine (a local anesthetic (trade names Lidocaine and Xylocaine) used topically on the skin and mucous membranes)

Ethocaine; procaine (a white crystalline powder (trade name Ethocaine) administered near nerves as a local anesthetic in dentistry and medicine)

tetracaine (a crystalline compound used in the form of a hydrochloride as a local anesthetic)

• LOCAL (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Relating to or applicable to or concerned with the administration of a city or town or district rather than a larger area

Context example:

local authorities

Antonym:

national (concerned with or applicable to or belonging to an entire nation or country)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Of or belonging to or characteristic of a particular locality or neighborhood

Classified under:

Relational adjectives (pertainyms)

Context example:

a local bus line

Pertainym:

locality (a surrounding or nearby region)

Derivation:

locality (a surrounding or nearby region)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Affecting only a restricted part or area of the body

Context example:

local anesthesia

Similar:

localised; localized (confined or restricted to a particular location)

topical (pertaining to the surface of a body part)

Domain category:

medical specialty; medicine (the branches of medical science that deal with nonsurgical techniques)

Antonym:

general (affecting the entire body)

 Context examples 

Although most ameloblastomas are morphologically and clinically benign, they may cause extensive local destruction, recur, or metastasize.

(Ameloblastoma, NCI Thesaurus)

I had a telegram from the head of the local police before I left the school this morning.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

A malignant neoplasm that has spread to the neck region from a malignancy in a local or distant anatomic site.

(Metastatic Malignant Neoplasm to the Neck, NCI Thesaurus)

The inflammatory response associated with asthma is characterized by the recruitment of eosinophils from the bronchial microcirculation in response to the regulated local production of chemoattractant molecules.

(Allergy Chemokine Network Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

Changes in rainy and dry seasons are already disrupting fish dynamics and making their effects felt by local communities.

(Amazon fish ‘face new threats’, SciDev.Net)

N-nitroso-N-methylurethane has local as well as systemic carcinogenic effects.

(N-nitroso-N-methylurethane, NCI Thesaurus)

Local aid is always either worthless or else biassed.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Local: numbs one small area of the body. You stay awake and alert.

(Anesthesia, NIH)

Nalidixic acid concentrates in the renal tubules and bladder and exerts its local antibacterial actions by interference of DNA gyrase activity, thereby inhibiting DNA synthesis during bacterial replication in a dose-dependent manner.

(Nalidixic Acid, NCI Thesaurus)

Local anesthesia is a loss of feeling in one small area of the body.

(Anesthesia, NCI Dictionary)