Synonyms

locate

American

[loh-keyt, loh-keyt] / ˈloʊ keɪt, loʊˈkeɪt /

verb (used with object)

located, locating

to identify or discover the place or location of.

to locate the bullet wound.
to set, fix, or establish in a position, situation, or locality; place; settle.

to locate our European office in Paris.
to assign or ascribe a particular location to (something), as by knowledge or opinion.

Some scholars locate the Garden of Eden in Babylonia.
to survey and enter a claim to a tract of land; take possession of land.

verb (used without object)

located, locating

to establish one's business or residence in a place; settle.

locate British

/ ləʊˈkeɪt /

verb

(tr) to discover the position, situation, or whereabouts of; find
(tr; often passive) to situate or place

located on the edge of the city
(intr) to become established or settled

"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

Other Word Forms

interlocate verb (used with object)
locatable adjective
locater noun
prelocate verb
self-locating adjective
unlocated adjective

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”; locus

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 first step is to locate the life insurance policy paperwork.

From Salon • Mar. 24, 2026

Published in Science, the research shows that ravens rely on spatial memory and navigation to locate food spread across the landscape.

From Science Daily • Mar. 19, 2026

She zoomed in on the school blazer and began trying to locate the school through its emblem.

From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026

Its "highest priority" remained the "continued efforts to locate the three crew members who are still missing", it added.

From Barron's • Mar. 16, 2026

Their advice is always taken with pleasure, though often the advisees are distracted by other tents before they locate the recommended ones.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023