Definitions for federal
ˈfɛd ər əlfed·er·al

Princeton's WordNet(1.50 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Federal, Federal soldier, Union soldier(noun)

   a member of the Union Army during the American Civil War

2. Federal, Fed, federal official(adj)

   any federal law-enforcement officer

3. federal(adj)

   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. federal(adj)

   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, Federal(adj)

   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. federal(adj)

   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"

Wiktionary(2.00 / 4 votes)Rate this definition:

1. federal(Noun)

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

   Etymology: From foedus.

2. federal(Adjective)

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

   Etymology: From foedus.

3. federal(Adjective)

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

   Etymology: From foedus.

Webster Dictionary(3.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Federal(adj)

   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

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

2. Federal(adj)

   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

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

3. Federal(adj)

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

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

4. Federal(adj)

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

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

5. Federal(noun)

   see Federalist

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

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

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 Dictionary(3.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

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 Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. federal(adjective)

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

2. federal(adjective)

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

3. federal(adjective)

   Going federal: rising up in the game.

4. federal(adjective)

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

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

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

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. Dallas Cowboys:

   Due to federal and local privacy laws, we are unable to provide information regarding the personal health of any of our employees.

2. Ted Cruz:

   As president, I have pledged on my first day in office to rescind every single one of President Obama’s unconstitutional executive actions, and to direct every federal agency to respect and protect the religious liberty of every American.

3. Public Information Nick Cavey:

   Maryland officials have received subpoenas from federal officials, federal authorities have asked us not to disclose the information they are seeking as part of their ongoing criminal investigation.

4. Matthew Myers:

   There has never been a federal official who made bolder proposals to reduce tobacco use the question was always going to be would he stick it out to get them done?

5. Jeff Morales:

   Our current plans do not assume any new federal money.

Images & Illustrations of federal

Popularity rank by frequency of use