Definitions for Federal
ˈfɛd ər əlfed·er·al

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:1.5 / 2 votes

1. Federal, Federal soldier, Union soldiernoun

   a member of the Union Army during the American Civil War

2. Federal, Fed, federal officialadjective

   any federal law-enforcement officer

3. federaladjective

   national; especially in reference to the government of the United States as distinct from that of its member units

   "the Federal Bureau of Investigation"; "federal courts"; "the federal highway program"; "federal property"

4. federaladjective

   of or relating to the central government of a federation

   "a federal district is one set aside as the seat of the national government"

5. Union, Federaladjective

   being of or having to do with the northern United States and those loyal to the Union during the American Civil War

   "Union soldiers"; "Federal forces"; "a Federal infantryman"

6. federaladjective

   characterized by or constituting a form of government in which power is divided between one central and several regional authorities

   "a federal system like that of the United States"; "federal governments often evolved out of confederations"

WiktionaryRate this definition:2.0 / 4 votes

1. federalnoun

   A law-enforcement official of the FBI; short for federal agent.

2. federaladjective

   Pertaining to a league or treaty; derived from an agreement or covenant between parties, especially between nations.

3. federaladjective

   Pertaining to the national government level, as opposed to state, provincial, county, city, or town.

4. Etymology: From foedus.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Federaladjective

   Relating to a league or contract.

   Etymology: from fœdus, Latin.

   It is a federal rite betwixt God and us, as eating and drinking, both among the Jews and Heathens, was wont to be. Henry Hammond, Fundamentals.

   The Romans compelled them, contrary to all federal right and justice, both to part with Sardinia, their lawful territory, and also to pay them for the future a double tribute. Nehemiah Grew.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. federal

   Federal refers to a system of government in which powers and functions are divided between a central government and individual states or provinces. It can also pertain to anything related to this system of government, such as federal laws, federal courts, or federal agencies.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:3.0 / 1 vote

1. Federaladjective

   pertaining to a league or treaty; derived from an agreement or covenant between parties, especially between nations; constituted by a compact between parties, usually governments or their representatives

2. Federaladjective

   composed of states or districts which retain only a subordinate and limited sovereignty, as the Union of the United States, or the Sonderbund of Switzerland

3. Federaladjective

   consisting or pertaining to such a government; as, the Federal Constitution; a Federal officer

4. Federaladjective

   friendly or devoted to such a government; as, the Federal party. see Federalist

5. Federalnoun

   see Federalist

6. Etymology: [L. foedus league, treaty, compact; akin to fides faith: cf. F. fdral. see Faith.]

FreebaseRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Federal

   Federal is the debut album by American rapper E-40, released November 10, 1993 on Sick Wid It Records. It peaked at number 80 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Jive records reissued Federal in 1995 with three tracks missing.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:3.0 / 2 votes

1. Federal

   fed′ėr-al, adj. pertaining to or consisting of a treaty or covenant: confederated, founded upon mutual agreement: of a union or government in which several states, while independent in home affairs, combine for national or general purposes, as in the United States (in the American Civil War, Federal was the name applied to the states of the North which defended the Union against the Confederate separatists of the South).—n. a supporter of federation: a Unionist soldier in the American Civil War.—n. Fed′eracy.—v.t. Fed′eralise.—ns. Fed′eralism, the principles or cause maintained by federalists; Fed′eralist, a supporter of a federal constitution or union; Fed′erary (Shak.), a confederate.—adj. Fed′erāte, united by league: confederated.—n. Federā′tion, the act of uniting in league: a federal union.—adj. Fed′erātive, united in league.—Federal (or Covenant) theology, that first worked out by Cocceius (1603-69), based on the idea of two covenants between God and man—of Works and of Grace (see Covenant). [Fr. fédéral—L. fœdus, fœderis, a treaty, akin to fidĕre, to trust.]

Rap DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. federaladjective

   Refering to the federal government. "The reasons are several, most of the federal" -- Public Enemy (Black steel in the hour of chaos).

2. federaladjective

   Something of exceptional quality or of an extreme nature. Used throughout E-40 tapes, probably Bay Area in origin.

3. federaladjective

   Going federal: rising up in the game.

4. federaladjective

   To "make a federal case of" something means to make a big deal out of it, usually when it's not worth it.

Matched Categories

1. • Government

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Federal' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #2632

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Federal' in Written Corpus Frequency: #4754

3. Adjectives Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Federal' in Adjectives Frequency: #354

Anagrams for Federal »

1. Elfreda

How to pronounce Federal?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say Federal in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of Federal in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of Federal in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of Federal in a Sentence

1. L. A. Powe Jr.:

   The purpose of the Bill of Rights was to limit what the federal government could do. Any interpretation of a provision of the Bill of Rights as a grant of federal power is ipso facto wrong.

2. David Bergstein:

   Structurally they are betting the farm and everything possible to get through these midterms, and they are just opening up the checkbook to do it. ' Public investment shrinks as safety net balloonsWhatever the immediate political impact, if President Joe Biden ultimately signs anything like the proposed program, it would mark a new era in Washington's role in the economy.Over the past 50 years, federal spending, as a share of the nation's economic output, has averaged about 20.6 %, according to calculations by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a centrist group that argues for budgetary restraint. Washington has significantly exceeded that level only in times of crisis : Spending reached 24 % of the nation's gross domestic product during Obama's first term immediately after the 2008 financial crisis and roughly 32 % during the Covid pandemic, federal figures show. ( Federal spending as a share of the economy reached its modern high of more than 40 % at the height of World War II.) Though federal spending over the past half century has remained relatively constant at about one-fifth of the economy, the composition of that spending has shifted dramatically. Over that period, public investment -- defined primarily as federal spending on infrastructure, education and training, and support for research and development -- has declined, while the safety net -- including such payments to individuals as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, food assistance and various tax credits for families -- has soared. Its totally different from anything put forward by Obama or Clinton. In terms of any kind of coherent strategic focus theres been nothing like this since the build-out of the suburbs, and the buildup of the educational system.Josh Bivens, research director, Economic Policy InstituteIn 1969, federal figures show, public investment and payments to individuals each consumed nearly one-third of total federal spending, an amount equal to about 6 % of the economy. By 2019, the last year before Washington poured huge sums into the Covid crisis, public investment had fallen to just 12.5 % of Responsible Federal Budget while payments to individuals had grown past 70 %. Public investment now equals only about 2.5 % of the economy, while payments to individuals consume more than five times as much.The exact distribution between public investment and safety net spending in the Democratic plans isn't known, because the party hasn't released details on the funding levels in the $ 3.5 trillion budget blueprint that Senate Democrats recently agreed on. But it's clear that the proposal -- coupled with the bipartisan infrastructure agreement advancing on a separate track -- would represent a huge expansion on both fronts.The infusion of new money for public investment might be most striking, given how steadily it has lost ground in federal priorities. Public investment fell from about 30 % of federal spending in the late 1960s to about 20 % by the late 1970s and 15 % by the mid-1990s, a plateau from which it's since drifted further down except for a brief recovery under Obama's first-term stimulus plan. The budget plans Senate Democrats are advancing would provide a more lasting turnaround. The bipartisan plan would spend almost $ 600 billion on.

3. Leon Fresco:

   If you were to read those cold, you would read those and you would say, 'Oh my God, Latinos and immigrants and Mexicans are so violent and so prone to crime,' and really what the actual way to read that is that in the federal system, it's not like the state system where most crimes are prosecuted, there has to be an interstate or international nexus to prosecute a federal crime, so in the federal system, the easiest type of federal crime to prove is illegal immigration.

4. Ronald Reagan:

   The taxpayer -- that's someone who works for the federal government but doesn't have to take the civil service examination.

5. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders:

   It's a state and a federal issue. The federal issue is that we should remove marijuana from the Controlled Substance Act. That's a federal decision, the state decision is that we live in a federal system of government where issues like tobacco and alcohol are significantly regulated by the states. And I think that is a province of the states.

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