locus

noun

lo·​cus ˈlō-kəs How to pronounce locus (audio)
plural loci ˈlō-ˌsī How to pronounce locus (audio)
-ˌkī,
-ˌkē
1
a
: 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 peopleH. 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

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 family’s home, once the locus of so many festive occasions, has gone quiet. Amy Qin, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2024 Madison’s theory of an extended republic was that self-government would work better in a large, diverse nation than in a small city-state (the locus of most prior republics) because no single faction would predominate. Daniel Foster, National Review, 30 Nov. 2023 The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that those with a strong internal locus of control - also known as believing in your ability to shape your own lives - tend to be more successful and have higher overall levels of well-being. Jeetendr Sehdev, Forbes, 12 Feb. 2024 Personal choice, so devoutly worshiped in our society, may not be the final locus of freedom after all. Benjamin Dubow, Longreads, 20 Feb. 2024 That firepower disparity is the main reason why Russian forces are—admittedly at great cost—slowly advancing in and around the eastern city of Avdiivka, currently the locus of Russia’s winter offensive. David Axe, Forbes, 14 Feb. 2024 And the building is the locus of the action in Jonathan Glazer’s insidious Holocaust drama The Zone of Interest, his first film in the decade since Under the Skin (2013), and the winner of the Grand Prix and FIPRESCI prize at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. Armani Syed, TIME, 12 Jan. 2024 If Mormonism is weird, where is the locus of its weirdness? Dan Piepenbring, Harper's Magazine, 14 Dec. 2023 On Monday hundreds of researchers gathered at Fermilab, the locus of U.S. particle physics. Daniel Garisto, Scientific American, 13 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'locus.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Latin — more at stall

First Known Use

1648, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of locus was in 1648

Dictionary Entries Near locus

Cite this Entry

“Locus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/locus. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

locus

noun
lo·​cus ˈlō-kəs How to pronounce locus (audio)
plural loci ˈlō-ˌsī How to pronounce locus (audio)
-ˌkī,
-ˌkē
1
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

Medical Definition

locus

noun
lo·​cus ˈlō-kəs How to pronounce locus (audio)
plural loci
ˈlō-ˌsī, -ˌkī also -ˌkē
1
: a place or site of an event, activity, or thing
the integrity of the tissues determines the extent and locus of the damageSylvia E. Hines
2
: the position in a chromosome of a particular gene or allele

Legal Definition

locus

noun
lo·​cus ˈlō-kəs How to pronounce locus (audio)
: the place connected with a particular event having legal significance

More from Merriam-Webster on locus

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