Definitions for federal
ˈfɛd ər əlfed·er·al

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

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"

Wiktionary(2.00 / 4 votes)Rate this definition:

1. federalnoun

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

   Etymology: From foedus.

2. federaladjective

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

   Etymology: From foedus.

3. federaladjective

   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. 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

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

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

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

3. Federaladjective

   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. Federaladjective

   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. Federalnoun

   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. 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. Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom:

   Homelessness isn't just a concern in our cities, it's a suburban issue and a rural issue, too. No Californian can say that homelessness is someone else's problem, every corner of our state has too many people living on the streets. And the crisis puts stress on public resources, from emergency rooms to jails to public works departments. It takes an unprecedented level of partnership between local, state, and federal government.

2. Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto:

   I made it clear to Uber officials after the Arizona crash that a full federal investigation had to be completed, with strong rules for keeping streets safe, before I would agree with the company to begin testing on Pittsburgh streets again.

3. Equifax Chief Executive Mark Begor:

   It is reassuring that our federal law enforcement agencies treat cybercrime – especially state-sponsored crime – with the seriousness it deserves.

4. Hadiya Yousef:

   We gave them an idea about the plan we are working on, and expressed to them our desire for Manbij to be part of the democratic federal area after its liberation, there was an optimistic view toward the matter. They liked the plan.

5. Jonathan Butcher:

   Critical race theory is meant to be applied, those who write about critical race theory say it has an activist dimension. By applying these ideas, they are trying to undermine the Civil Rights Act, the most important civil rights law in federal code. We’re saying, ‘You cannot require someone to act or believe on this idea that conflicts with federal law.’.

Popularity rank by frequency of use