locus

noun

lo·cus | \ ˈlō-kəs

plural loci\ ˈlō-ˌsī ,

-ˌkī, -ˌkē \

Definition of locus

1a : the place where something is situated or occurs : site, location was the culture of medicine in the beginning dispersed from a single focus or did it arise in several loci?— S. C. Harvey

b : a center of activity, attention, or concentration in democracy the locus of power is in the people— H. G. Rickover

2 : the set of all points whose location is determined by stated conditions

3 : the position in a chromosome of a particular gene or allele

Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about locus

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Examples of locus in a Sentence

The area became a locus of resistance to the government. an area of the Southwest that has been the locus of a number of New Agey movements

Recent Examples on the Web

The choice of a church or temple as the locus for the shooting made the act more than just an incident of personal hatred. — Tara Isabella Burton, Vox, "An assailant killed at least 11 at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.," 27 Oct. 2018 Washington, after all, has been the locus of loud, angry, even anguished debate on a daily basis since the earthquake of the 2016 presidential election. — Gerald F. Seib, WSJ, "The New Kind of Fury Unleashed by the Kavanaugh Fight," 27 Sep. 2018 Jeffree Star and his ex-friends, explained The locus of this drama is an ongoing conflict between beauty guru and business exec Jeffree Star and some of his former friends: Laura Lee, Manny MUA (MUA is an acronym for makeup artist), a.k.a. — Alex Abad-santos, Vox, "Laura Lee, Jeffree Star, and the racism scandal upending the YouTube beauty community, explained," 28 Aug. 2018 Bezos and two other major US business leaders, investor Warren Buffett and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, also chose Boston as the locus of their new venture to transform health care delivery. — BostonGlobe.com, "Amazon to buy Somerville online pharmacy startup PillPack," 28 June 2018 Much of the recent growth has occurred along the U.S. Gulf Coast, which has emerged as the locus of global petrochemical production thanks to a steady supply of low-cost natural gas feedstocks from West Texas and elsewhere. — Katherine Blunt, San Antonio Express-News, "U.S. fossil fuel consumption reaches lowest share in a century," 3 July 2018 Much of the recent growth has occurred along the U.S. Gulf Coast, which has emerged as the locus of global petrochemical production thanks to a steady supply of low-cost natural gas feedstocks from West Texas and elsewhere. — Katherine Blunt, Houston Chronicle, "U.S. fossil fuel consumption reaches lowest share in a century," 3 July 2018 An extraordinary painterly sensitivity expressed itself in the person of a young black male, the locus of terror and misgiving in a racist society. — Stephen Metcalf, The Atlantic, "Jean-Michel Basquiat Is Still an Enigma," 24 June 2018 Bird's authorial attitude is both sly and sincere, with a view of the nuclear family as the locus of human virtue and strength. — Todd Mccarthy, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Incredibles 2': Film Review," 11 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'locus.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.