locate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to identify or discover the place or location of.
to locate the bullet wound.
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to set, fix, or establish in a position, situation, or locality; place; settle.
to locate our European office in Paris.
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to assign or ascribe a particular location to (something), as by knowledge or opinion.
Some scholars locate the Garden of Eden in Babylonia.
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to survey and enter a claim to a tract of land; take possession of land.
verb (used without object)
verb
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(tr) to discover the position, situation, or whereabouts of; find
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(tr; often passive) to situate or place
located on the edge of the city
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(intr) to become established or settled
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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locaternoun
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prelocateverb
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interlocateverb (used with object)
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locatableadjective
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self-locatingadjective
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unlocatedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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locatesimple
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locatessimple
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have locatedperfect
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has locatedperfect
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am locatingprogressive
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are locatingprogressive
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is locatingprogressive
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have been locatingperfect progressive
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has been locatingperfect progressive
Past
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locatedsimple
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had locatedperfect
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was locatingprogressive
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were locatingprogressive
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had been locatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of locate
An Americanism first recorded in 1645–55; from Latin locātus “placed,” past participle of locāre “to put in a given position, place,” verb derivative of locus “a place”; see locus
Explanation
If you wanted to decide where to locate your car wash, you might locate a spot on a map with lots of traffic, a parking lot, and a ready source of water. Locate means to find or place. If your mother can never locate her keys, it means she loses them all of the time and has to look all around the house before going out. If you move to a new place, usually for a job, you relocate. But if you decide to find a job that is located in your town, you call that staying local, which, like locate, derives from the Latin locus meaning "place."
Vocabulary lists containing locate
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Vocabulary of the Common Core
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Academic Vocabulary Toolkit 1, Words 51-60
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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.
See Examples For:
Despite a search of the park with helicopters equipped with heat-detection cameras, police were not able to locate the suspect in the immediate aftermath.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
Researchers say this approach could offer a powerful new way to locate planets around other stars, particularly in environments where dust and debris make conventional imaging difficult.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 23, 2026
An attempt to locate the wreckage in 2024 was abandoned due to poor weather - but Matthews said his team had been determined to return before the 75th anniversary of the crash.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
After learning that his client couldn’t locate her husband, Rodriguez admitted to obtaining a warrant in July 2022 under false pretenses in order to find him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
“You send him a message, and the Guardians can locate us in seconds.”
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
When a store puts in an order, a robot locates the correct bin, grabs the tote using extendable metal arms and carries it to a glass elevator that delivers the item to a human.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026
Ms Wall locates the former burial sites using press images, local stories and flowers left on posts but said she had learnt to identify “very clear signs”.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2024
He still lives in Seattle, consults for transportation clients, and joined the board of a company that locates underground utility obstacles, like those which delayed the new Tacoma Link Hilltop Extension streetcar.
From Seattle Times ● May 21, 2024
The section of “Mandate for Leadership” dedicated to laying out a program for the future Trump Justice Department locates the discussion of the federal death penalty in a broad but familiar context.
From Slate ● May 14, 2024
Once he locates one, he sits down at the table in the kitchen to write a note to his parents.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
The vineyards, which are mainly located to the east of Bordeaux, were largely spared by the fire, which is mainly burning through pine forests.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
At Rosewood’s three hotels located throughout New Zealand, the chefs honor this ethically sourced ethos, working with local purveyors and farmers to source indigenous ingredients like beach spinach, fern fronds and abalone.
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026
The town of 8,000 people, located on the far western edge of the metropolitan area, has been evacuated.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
A vehicle suspected of being used in the attack has been located by police inside the city's Tiergarten park.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
The neighborhood of Key West where the cigar factories were located was called Gatoville.
From Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm
Coast Guard suspended its active search based on the extensive efforts already conducted and the dwindling probability of locating a survivor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2026
His fastball felt good, so locating his slider was the next step toward his return.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2026
The ongoing work includes financial literacy courses, small business grants, infrastructure projects, and the agonising process of locating ancestral graves.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026
A strange blood-feeding fly appears to reduce its visual sensitivity after locating a host and giving up flight for good, according to new research.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 2, 2026
I could tell by Rowdy’s actions that he had scented something, but was having trouble locating it.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
