C1 [ before noun ] relating to the central government, and not to the government of a region, of some countries such as the US:
the federal government
› A federal system of government consists of a group of regions that are controlled by a central government.
More examples
- They were charged with violating federal law.
- All of the federal judges currently sitting in Maryland hail from Baltimore.
- They are accused of trying to shield the General from US federal investigators.
- There is strong support here for the tough economic reforms ordained in the federal capital, Prague.
- Managers deliberately obscured the real situation from federal investigators.
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