(1) (n.) The range over which an action or definition applies.
(2) (n.) A characteristic of an identifier that determines where the identifier can be used. Most identifiers in the JavaTM programming environment have either class or local scope. Instance and class variable s and methods have class scope; they can be used outside the class and its subclasses only by prefixing them with an instance of the class or (for class variables and methods) with the class name. All other variables are declared within methods and have local scope; they can be used only within the enclosing block.