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Definition of locate verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

locate

verb
 
/ləʊˈkeɪt/
 
/ˈləʊkeɪt/
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they locate
 
/ləʊˈkeɪt/
 
/ˈləʊkeɪt/
he / she / it locates
 
/ləʊˈkeɪts/
 
/ˈləʊkeɪts/
past simple located
 
/ləʊˈkeɪtɪd/
 
/ˈləʊkeɪtɪd/
past participle located
 
/ləʊˈkeɪtɪd/
 
/ˈləʊkeɪtɪd/
-ing form locating
 
/ləʊˈkeɪtɪŋ/
 
/ˈləʊkeɪtɪŋ/
jump to other results
  1. [transitive] locate somebody/something to find the exact position of somebody/something
    • The mechanic located the fault immediately.
    • Rescue planes are trying to locate the missing sailors.
    • I twisted my head to either side, attempting to immediately locate and identify the horrible stench.
    • We tried to locate the source of the sound.
    Extra Examples
    • She took time to help me locate research materials.
    • Some stars are quite easy to locate with a telescope.
    • The machine can accurately locate radioactive material.
    • We haven't yet been able to locate a suitable site.
    • Divers were sent down to try and locate the wreck.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • accurately
    • correctly
    • precisely
    verb + locate
    • be able to
    • be unable to
    • can
    See full entry
  2. [transitive] locate something + adv./prep. to put or build something in a particular place synonym site
    • They located their headquarters in Swindon.
    • Locating offices directly next to the labs is preferred by most researchers.
    compare relocate
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • centrally
    • conveniently
    • ideally
    preposition
    • at
    • between
    • close to
    See full entry
  3. [intransitive] + adv./prep. (especially North American English) to start a business in a particular place
    • There are tax breaks for businesses that locate in rural areas.
  4. Word Originearly 16th cent.: from Latin locat- ‘placed’, from the verb locare, from locus ‘place’. The original sense was as a legal term meaning ‘let out on hire’, later (late 16th cent.) ‘assign to a particular place’, then (particularly in North American usage) ‘establish in a place’. The sense ‘discover the exact position of’ dates from the late 19th cent.
See locate in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee locate in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
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adjective
 
 
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