locus
/ˈloʊkəs/noun
locus is spelled L-O-C-U-S: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 22,965th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, locus means “A place or locality, especially a centre of activity or the scene of a crime” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of locus is loci or locuses.
How many letters and syllables are in locus?
| Letters | 5: L-O-C-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.5 times per million words; the 22,965th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is locus?
Locus appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 22,965th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce locus?
- UK /ˈləʊkəs/
- US /ˈloʊkəs/
Locus has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-locus.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with locus?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as locus from its last stressed vowel (/oʊkəs/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of locus
- loci plural
- locuses plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does locus mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A place or locality, especially a centre of activity or the scene of a crime.
The cafeteria was the locus of activity.
- 2
The set of all points whose coordinates satisfy a given equation or condition.
A circle is the locus of points from which the distance to the center is a given value, the radius.
- 3
A fixed position on a string of DNA or RNA, especially a chromosome, that may be occupied by one or more genes.
Holonyms: subband < band < region < replicon
- 4
A passage in writing, especially in a collection of ancient sacred writings arranged according to a theme.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Locus in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | lieu, endroit, local , locus |
| German | Ort |
| Portuguese | lugar, sítio , lócus |
| Spanish | locus |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does locus come from?
Learned borrowing from Latin locus. Doublet of lieu.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).