locus

noun

lo·​cus ˈlō-kəs 

plural loci ˈlō-ˌsī 

-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 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

• axis
• base
• capital
• center
• central
• core
• cynosure
• epicenter
• eye
• focus
• ground zero
• heart
• hub
• mecca
• navel
• nerve center
• nexus
• nucleus
• omphalos
• seat

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

Novyi Put is 250 miles from the locus of Russia’s 33-month wider war on Ukraine around Kurakhove in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast. —David Axe, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024

Previous iterations of this biennial also presented Toronto as the locus of histories of faraway places but, with the world building grown unwieldy, inadequately explained why these stories belong together. —Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 22 Oct. 2024

International trade and finance institutions should replace the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change as the locus of climate policy. —Jessica F. Green, Foreign Affairs, 12 Nov. 2021

That would be interesting, given that Briggs is a key locus of paranormal activity on Lynch and Frost’s show. —Katie Rife, Vulture, 5 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin — more at stall

First Known Use

1648, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing locus

• locus ceruleus
• locus classicus
• locus coeruleus

Kids Definition

locus

noun

lo·​cus ˈlō-kəs 

plural loci ˈlō-ˌsī 

-ˌkī,

-ˌkē

1

: place entry 1 sense 3a, locality

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 

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 damage

—Sylvia E. Hines

2

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

Legal Definition

locus

noun

lo·​cus ˈlō-kəs 

: the place connected with a particular event having legal significance