locus

[ loh-kuhs ]
See synonyms for locus on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural lo·ci [loh-sahy, -kee, -kahy], /ˈloʊ saɪ, -ki, -kaɪ/, lo·ca [loh-kuh]. /ˈloʊ kə/.
  1. a place; locality.

  2. a center or source, as of activities or power:locus of control.

  1. Mathematics. the set of all points, lines, or surfaces that satisfy a given requirement.

  2. Genetics. the chromosomal position of a gene as determined by its linear order relative to the other genes on that chromosome.

Origin of locus

1
First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin; Old Latin stlocus “a place”

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use locus in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for locus

locus

/ (ˈləʊkəs) /


nounplural loci (ˈləʊsaɪ)
  1. (in many legal phrases) a place or area, esp the place where something occurred

  2. maths a set of points whose location satisfies or is determined by one or more specified conditions: the locus of points equidistant from a given point is a circle

  1. genetics the position of a particular gene on a chromosome

Origin of locus

1
C18: Latin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for locus

locus

[ kəs ]


Plural loci (sī′, -kē, -kī′)
  1. The set or configuration of all points whose coordinates satisfy a single equation or one or more algebraic conditions.

  2. The position that a given gene occupies on a chromosome.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for locus

locus

plur. loci (loh-seye, loh-keye)

In geometry, the set of all points (and only those points) that satisfy certain conditions; these points form a curve or figure. For example, the locus of all points in space one foot from a given point is a sphere having a radius of one foot and having its center at the given point. The locus of all points in a plane one foot from a given point is a circle having a radius of one foot and having its center at the given point.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.