location

American  

[loh-key-shuhn] / loʊˈkeɪ ʃən /

noun

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.

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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

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

   2. (formerly) an African tribal reserve

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

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

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Other Word Forms

• interlocation noun
• locational adjective
• locationally adverb
• nonlocation noun

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.

Example Sentences

A third potential location could be a deep-water port near Pituffik, where the U.S. already has a space base.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026

Once the snow-storage location is chosen, storing snow is simply about making a really big pile.

From Slate • Apr. 11, 2026

New festivals are often intriguing to music fans, especially if they have an interesting location.

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

The location, a Tudor Revival-style building on Bedford Drive, was attractive for its visibility, parking spaces and proximity to daily services and salons, he said.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026

On the night of April 16, Stanton had no idea of John Wilkes Booth’s location or destination.

From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson

Related Words

• area
• district
• locale
• neighborhood
• part
• point
• position
• region
• scene
• section
• site
• situation
• spot
• station
• venue
• whereabouts