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location

American  
[loh-kay-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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

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.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

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.

See Examples For:

For example, less than 30% of the fleets had publicly available location information, and less than 25% had a unique vessel identification number.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026

In the US, Starlink's residential plans start at $55 a month, although prices and equipment costs vary by plan and location.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky divulged the current location of two captured soldiers, irking South Korea who thought such disclosures were off-limits.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

Some teleworking is allowed, but employees must be working in a location from which they are able to easily return to their assigned work location within normal commute time, the audit said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

“We can’t. They could trace our location like Mom traced yours,” he tells me, which makes sense, but then this boy goes, “We should call the Unremarkable police.”

From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas

Chipotle locations were located within one mile of a Starbucks, “suggesting meaningful opportunities for shared real-estate development and potentially operating efficiencies.”

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

Digital sales surged by 68% to C$402.9 million, now making up 34% of all sales, while sales at brick and mortar locations rose 34% to C$766.9 million.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

As for the out-of-state workers, they did not disclose their actual work locations and instead listed California addresses, limiting the office’s ability to identify the issue sooner, the spokesperson said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

The Justice Department, meanwhile, has said it will continue sending federal personnel to polling locations as part of its election-monitoring efforts.

From Salon ● Oct. 8, 2026

Questions, observations, the locations of blisters and rashes—everything is delivered as though it were an announcement.

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris

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