locate
gb/lˈoʊkˌeɪt/ us/lˈoʊkˌeɪt/
A2
English
~ 2400
Senses
0 senses
Verb
A2
action
1
Find the exact position
To find where someone or something is.
Usage pattern:
to locate [someone/something]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse 'locate' with 'relocate'; 'locate' means to find, while 'relocate' means to move something to a new place.
Synonyms
find (More general; does not always imply precision in determining position.)
|
detect (Often used for sensing or discovering something hidden or hard to notice.)
Antonyms
lose (Means to no longer know the position of something or someone.)
Collocations
locate the source
|locate the problem
|locate the missing
|locate the address
|locate the signal
Themes
daily life
|navigation
|search
|core_vocabulary
|space
Examples
- The police were able to locate the missing child within hours.
- I finally located my keys under the couch.
- We used GPS to locate the restaurant.
Learner examples
- I can locate my phone with this app.
- The police will locate the lost dog.
- We can locate the school on this map.
Verb
B1
action
2
Put in a specific place
To put something in a certain place.
Usage pattern:
to locate [something] [somewhere]
Common mistake:
Learners may overuse 'put' instead of 'locate' in formal writing; 'locate' sounds more deliberate and planned.
Synonyms
position (Emphasizes the arrangement or alignment of something.)
|
situate (Often used in formal contexts to describe placing in a location.)
Antonyms
displace (To move something from its correct or usual position.)
Collocations
locate a building
|locate the office
|locate the machinery
Themes
construction
|planning
|core_vocabulary
|space
Examples
- They decided to locate the new store downtown.
- The engineers will locate the control panel near the entrance.
- We located the tent away from the river.
Learner examples
- They will locate the school next to the park.
- We will locate the chairs in the hall.
- He located his desk near the window.
Grammar
Dictionary form
locate
IPA
GB/lˈoʊkˌeɪt/
US/lˈoʊkˌeɪt/
Syllables & stress
loc - ate (2 syllables)
Stress on 1st syllable (loc)
Word forms
Verb
- Base: locate
- 3rd Person Singular: locates
- Present Participle: locating
- Past: located
Word family
Expressions
easy to locate
1/ˈizi tə lˈoʊkˌeɪt/
fixed phrase
Simple to find
Easy to find or see.
Examples
- The museum is easy to locate from the main road.
- Her house is easy to locate because it's near the park.
hard to locate
1/hˈɑɹd tə lˈoʊkˌeɪt/
fixed phrase
Difficult to find
Not easy to find or see.
Examples
- Good coffee shops can be hard to locate in this area.
- The source of the leak was hard to locate.
locate on a map
1/lˈoʊkˌeɪt ˈɔn ə mˈæp/
fixed phrase
Find on a map
To see and mark where a place is on a map.
Examples
- Can you locate Paris on this map?
- She quickly located the hotel on her phone's map.