locate

UK: /ləʊˈkeɪt/ US: /ˈloʊkeɪt, loʊˈkeɪt/ ,(lō′kāt, lō kāt′)

Inflections of 'locate' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

locates

v 3rd person singular

locating

v pres p

located

v past

located

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

lo•cate /ˈloʊkeɪt, loʊˈkeɪt/   v., -cat•ed, -cat•ing. 
v. 

1. to identify or discover the location of;
   find:
   [~ + object] to locate a missing book.
2. to establish (one's business or home) in a locality;
   settle: [~ + object]
   They located their offices downtown.
   [no object]
   decided to locate in New Mexico.
3. to assign a particular location to, as by knowledge or opinion:
   [~ + object] Some scholars locate the Garden of Eden in Babylonia.

lo•cat•a•ble, adj. 
lo•cat•er, lo•ca•tor, n. [countable] See -loc-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

lo•cate  (lō′kāt, lō kāt′), v., -cat•ed, -cat•ing. 
v.t. 

1. to identify or discover the place or location of:
   to locate the bullet wound.
2. to set, fix, or establish in a position, situation, or locality;
   place;
   settle:
   to locate our European office in Paris.
3. to assign or ascribe a particular location to (something), as by knowledge or opinion:
   Some scholars locate the Garden of Eden in Babylonia.
4. to survey and enter a claim to a tract of land;
   take possession of land.

v.i. 

5. to establish one's business or residence in a place;
   settle.

• Latin locātus, past participle of locāre to put in a given position, place; see locus, -ate¹
• 1645–55, American.

lo•cat′a•ble, adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

locate / ləʊˈkeɪt/ verb

1. (transitive) to discover the position, situation, or whereabouts of; find
2. (tr; often passive) to situate or place: located on the edge of the city
3. (intransitive) to become established or settled

loˈcater noun