Meaning & use
local resident
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A person who lives in a particular area or neighborhood, especially one who has lived there for some time.
Grammar: Countable: use 'a local resident' or 'local residents'.
Patterns
- a local resident of something
- local residents in something
- a group of local residents
Local residents complained about the noise from the new factory.
She has been a local resident of this town for over thirty years.
The council invited local residents to discuss the new park.
nouncountableformal
Someone who lives in a place rather than just visiting it, often used in official or medical contexts.
Grammar: Often used in phrases like 'local resident population' or 'local resident status'.
Patterns
- local resident population
- local resident status
- register as a local resident
Only local residents can use the community swimming pool.
The hospital serves mostly local residents from the surrounding villages.
You need to prove you are a local resident to get the discount.
Word forms
| plural | local residents |
|---|
Common combinations
- local residents complain
- Local residents complained about the late-night traffic.
- a local resident of the area
- He is a local resident of the area and knows the roads well.
- local resident population
- The local resident population has grown by ten percent.
- meet with local residents
- The mayor met with local residents to hear their concerns.
- local resident discount
- The museum offers a local resident discount on Sundays.
Synonyms and how they differ
- inhabitant
- This is more formal and can refer to animals or people in any place, not just a local area.
- neighbor
- This is warmer and more personal, meaning someone who lives near you, not just in the same town.
- townsman
- This is old-fashioned and specifically means a man from your town.
Opposites
Word family
- reside verb
- To live in a particular place, used in formal writing.
- residence noun
- The place where someone lives, or the fact of living there.
- residential adjective
- Describing an area with houses, not shops or factories.
Commonly confused: local resident or resident?
local resident vs resident
'Resident' alone can mean a doctor in training at a hospital, but 'local resident' always means someone who lives in the area.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'local resident' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A local resident is a person who lives in a place, so we say 'a local resident of the building.' The other prepositions do not fit because 'of' shows the place where the person lives.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “local resident”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.