What does locatable mean?
Locatable is an adjective meaning capable of being located: found, identified, or pinpointed in a physical place, an area, or another organized system. Its use is especially common in technical and investigative contexts, such as locating a radio signal, a person, an archaeological feature, or the source of information. A locatable object or source is not necessarily one whose position is already known; rather, it is one that can be determined with suitable methods or references. In general writing, the related adjective located is often more natural when the position or identity has already been established. Locatable nevertheless remains useful when describing feasibility or method: a device may be locatable by satellite, or a quotation may be locatable in a published archive. The word is neutral in tone but tends to sound more systematic and precise than simply findable.
adjectiveAble to be found or determined in a particular place, area, or system. It may also refer to something whose source or origin can be identified.
- Able to be found or determined in a particular place, area, or system.
"The signal was locatable to within a few metres using three reference stations."
"The signal was locatable to within a few metres using three reference stations."
"The quotation is locatable in the council minutes, though the speaker is not identified."
A locatable thing need not already be located; the word describes what can be found, pinpointed, or traced.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does locatable come from?
Locatable was formed in English by adding the suffix -able to locate. Locate comes from Latin locare, meaning to place, locate, or assign a place, which is based on Latin locus, meaning place. Related English words such as allocate and dislocate come from Latin formations involving the same loc- root, while location was borrowed through Latin locatio.
Related word forms
How locatable is actually used
The word is neutral in tone but is especially common in technical, scientific, investigative, and archival contexts. In everyday speech, findable may sound more natural. It is also used attributively, as in locatable device.
Easily confused with locatable
Located means that a person's position or a thing's place is already known, whereas locatable means that it is possible to find or determine it.