MEANING
1. The place where something happens or the central point of an activity or discussion.
2. The set of points or lines that satisfy a specified mathematical condition.
3. The particular position of a gene or other DNA sequence on a chromosome.
Use it for
locating where authority is exercised; identifying a central site of social activity; focusing an inquiry on where a process occursLocates a process or focus precisely while separating ordinary, mathematical, and genetic meanings. Academic functions: Theory / Conceptual Language, Research / Methodology.
Words that belong together
- locus of power
- locus of activity
- locus of control
On the page
The analysis places the locus of decision-making in local councils rather than the national ministry.
The psychology discussion distinguishes a perceived locus of control from actual control over events.
The diagram marks the locus of points equally distant from the two sites.
A circle is the locus of points at a fixed distance from its center in a plane.
The discussion distinguishes the locus of a gene from the different versions found at that locus.
Word forms
- Base
- locus
Usage notes
Count noun: locus; plural loci. Use locus of or locus at; loci of activity, points, or genes. Register: formal. Commonness: uncommon (qualitative editorial estimate, informed by dictionaries/corpus).
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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