federal district
12
6.0
- noun
- /ˈfɛdərəl ˈdɪstrɪkt/
:
distrito federal
- March 22, when a federal district court in New York rejected the proposed Google Books settlement.
- federal district court
- federal district judge
- federal district court case
Examples
-
After the woman died, her estate brought a claim against the cruise operator in federal district court.
Academic text (2017) -
Almost immediately, the constitutionality of the Indianapolis ordinance was challenged in federal district court.
Academic text (1990) -
As the federal district court for the Western District of Virginia has explained:
Academic text (2017) -
Indeed, wherever possible, it should choose to argue matters in federal district court in the first instance.
Academic text (2016) -
If that fails, we go to the federal district court, where we say that the defendant deserves a stay.
Fiction book (1997) -
The median time to get to trial in a case filed in a federal district court in 2005 was 22.5 months.
Academic text (2007) -
Several provisions in the act were initially ruled unconstitutional by federal district courts.
Academic text (2002) -
In an order issued on February 16, 2015, a Texas federal district court provided a preliminary injunction to prevent DAPA's implementation.
Academic text (2018) -
Appeals from BIA determinations go directly to the circuit courts, bypassing federal district courts.
Academic text (2006) -
The case was heard in the federal district court, which serves as the official seat of government.
Synonyms
∞
1.5
An area of a town or city used for local government
343
1.0
The capital city of the United States where the national government is based
28
3.5
A federal area in the eastern United States that contains the city Washington and is the nation's capital
1
2.5
The city of Washington, the capital of the United States
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and transparently derived from combining 'federal' (connected to the central/main government) with 'district' (an administratively defined area), yielding an area under federal administration or set aside by the federation. This compositional pattern is common cross-linguistically and follows standard adjective+noun semantics, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Federal district comes from the idea of making one special area for the national government. A federal government sets aside a separate district that does not belong to any state to keep the capital neutral, so today federal district means 'a special area for the country's main government'.