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.

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 Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

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.

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

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.]

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. David Victor:

   Because the federal government has been stagnant on these issues for a long time, a huge amount of activity has shifted to the states.

2. Adam Kurland:

   New York law already has a statute that limits some state prosecutions based on the same conduct as a prior federal prosecution.

3. United States:

   Christopher Ahn is Christopher Ahn, christopher Ahn deserves much better treatment than is currently being provided to Christopher Ahn by the United States government, which is housing Christopher Ahn in federal detention in Los Angeles.

4. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal:

   I think it is wrong for the federal government to force Christian individuals, businesses, pastors, churches to participate in wedding ceremonies that violate our sincerely held religious beliefs, we have to stand up and fight for religious liberty. That's where this fight is going. The left wants to silence us, Hillary Clinton wants to silence us, we're not going away.

5. Brandon Friedman:

   Florida governor Ron DeSantis is either openly preparing for a break from the federal government or he wants his followers to *believe* he is. Either way, it's extremely dangerous for the future of the United States.

Popularity rank by frequency of use