locus
noun
Simple meaning
A passage in writing.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
lohkuhsSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈloʊkəs
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
chiefly in the plural
A passage in writing, especially in a collection of ancient sacred writings arranged according to a theme.
mathematics
The set of all points or lines that satisfy or are determined by specific conditions
“The locus of points equidistant from a given point is a circle.”
mathematics
The set of all points whose coordinates satisfy a given equation or condition.
A place or locality, especially a centre of activity or the scene of a crime.
genetics
A fixed position on a string of DNA or RNA, especially a chromosome, that may be occupied by one or more genes.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A passage in writing, especially in a collection of ancient sacred writings arranged according to a theme.
Used this way, locus is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in historical writing contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where it naturally appears
- Historical writing
Nearby words
- venue , a specialist term, precise but narrower
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use locus
- “The locus of points equidistant from a given point is a circle.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
An authoritative and often-quoted passage.
A layer of deeply pigmented grey matter in the midbrain.
The specific site in the body where an infection originates.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.