(federals)
Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
1.
A federal country or system of government is one in which the different states or provinces of the country have important powers to make their own laws and decisions.
Five of the six provinces are to become autonomous regions in a new federal system of government.
ADJ: ADJ n
2.
Some people use federal to describe a system of government which they disapprove of, in which the different states or provinces are controlled by a strong central government.
He does not believe in a federal Europe with centralising powers.
ADJ: ADJ n [disapproval]
3.
Federal also means belonging or relating to the national government of a federal country rather than to one of the states within it.
The federal government controls just 6% of the education budget.
...a federal judge.
ADJ: ADJ n
• federally
...residents of public housing and federally subsidized apartments.
ADV: ADV -ed
4.
Federals are the same as
feds.
N-COUNT