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Synonyms

location

American  
[loh-key-shuhn] / loʊˈkeɪ ʃən /

noun

locations plural
  1. a place of settlement, activity, or residence.

    This town is a good location for a young doctor.

  2. a place or situation occupied.

    a house in a fine location.

  3. a tract of land of designated situation or limits.

    a mining location.

  4. Movies. a place outside of the studio that is used for filming a movie, scene, etc.

  5. Computers. any position on a register or memory device capable of storing one machine word.

  6. the act of locating; state of being located.

  7. Civil Law. a letting or renting.


idioms

  1. on location, engaged in filming at a place away from the studio, especially one that is or is like the setting of the screenplay.

    on location in Rome.

location British  
/ ləʊˈkeɪʃən /

noun

  1. a site or position; situation

  2. the act or process of locating or the state of being located

  3. a place outside a studio where filming is done

    shot on location

    1. a Black African or Coloured township, usually located near a small town See also township

    2. (formerly) an African tribal reserve

  4. computing a position in a memory capable of holding a unit of information, such as a word, and identified by its address

  5. Roman law Scots law the letting out on hire of a chattel or of personal services

"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

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Derived Forms

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Nouns

Etymology

Origin of location

First recorded in 1585–95; from Latin locātiōn-, stem of locātiō “arrangement, rental,” in Late Latin: “placement,” equivalent to locate + -ion

Explanation

A location is a fixed place or position in space. If you are lost, you don't know your location. You can try to figure out your location by consulting a map or asking a friendly local who has a better sense of direction than you do. The noun location means the determination of something's position. If you are on a scavenger hunt, you have to determine the location of various random objects. So on your hunt, finding birthday candles may be easy, but good luck finding the location of a ferrule, unless you happen to know it is the metal band on a pencil that holds the eraser in place.

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Vocabulary lists containing location

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The government argues that Google’s Location History differs from the cell-site records in Carpenter.

From Slate • Jun. 29, 2026

Kagan responds that Location History is, if anything, even more revealing because it records a person’s location roughly every two minutes rather than whenever a phone connects to a cellular tower.

From Slate • Jun. 29, 2026

According to Georgette Blau, founder and owner of On Location Tours, L.A.’s sprawl has something to do with that.

From Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2026

Location data shows the ship has spent the last month off the north-east coasts of Oman and the UAE.

From BBC • May 14, 2026

One of the first items on the very long list I have been given to think about including in my confession is Location of British Airfields for Invasion of Europe.

From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein

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