Location vs. Place: What's the Difference?
Edited by Harlon Moss || By Janet White || Published on November 5, 2023
Location refers to a specific point on Earth, often with coordinates; Place involves the attributes and values humans associate with a location.
Key Differences
something is on the globe. It's objective and used in mapping. On the other hand, a Place carries more than just coordinates; it includes the human experiences, the stories, emotions, and memories that are associated with that Location.
Location can be identified without human interaction; it's a fact-based term dependent on a physical point that can be scientifically determined. Conversely, Place requires human perception and experience; it's subjective, created by human attachments, emotions, and experiences tied to a Location.
Location is often used in a geographical context, like the exact spot you'd find a landmark or city using GPS coordinates. Place, however, goes deeper to involve cultural, emotional, and historical contexts, the qualitative factors that give meaning to the Location identified.
Location is universal, recognized globally regardless of personal experiences or cultural background since it refers to fixed points on Earth. But a Place can mean different things to different people, influenced by personal experiences, culture, and history associated with that Location.
Location is a term that's used when the exact spot of something is needed, it’s more functional. Whereas Place is used more in the context of living beings forming a community, it’s about the significance and the role of a Location in people's lives.
ADVERTISEMENT
Comparison Chart
Definition
A set point on Earth
Meaning humans assign to a location
Dependency
Objective facts
Human perception
Context
Geographical
Cultural, emotional, historical
Universality
Global and fixed
Personal and subjective
Usage
Functional, exact coordinates
Significance in human experiences, community
ADVERTISEMENT
Location and Place Definitions
Location
Location is a point or area on Earth's surface;
The Location of the ancient ruins is still a mystery.
Place
An area with definite or indefinite boundaries; a portion of space.
Location
Location refers to a particular building or area;
The concert's Location was shifted to the stadium.
Place
Room or space, especially adequate space
There is place for everyone at the back of the room.
Location
Location can refer to a digital presence;
The server's Location is crucial for network speed.
Place
The particular portion of space occupied by or allocated to a person or thing.
Location
Location can be an area described concerning the surroundings;
The restaurant's Location is next to the towering skyscraper.
Place
A building or an area set aside for a specified purpose
A place of worship.
Location
The act or process of locating
Location of the lost hikers took two days.
Place
A dwelling; a house
Bought a place on the lake.
Location
A place where something is or could be located; a site.
Place
A business establishment or office.
Location
A site away from a studio at which part or all of a movie is shot
Filming a Western on location in the Mexican desert.
Place
A locality, such as a town or city
Visited many places.
Location
A tract of land that has been surveyed and marked off.
Place
Abbr. Pl. A public square or street with houses in a town.
Location
A particular point or place in physical space.
Place
A space in which one person, such as a passenger or spectator, can sit or stand.
Location
An act of locating.
Place
A setting for one person at a table.
Location
(South Africa) An apartheid-era urban area populated by non-white people; township.
Place
A position regarded as belonging to someone or something else; stead
She was chosen in his place.
Location
(legal) A leasing on rent.
Place
A particular point that one has reached, as in a book
I have lost my place.
Location
A contract for the use of a thing, or service of a person, for hire.
Place
A particular spot, as on the body
The place that hurts.
Location
The marking out of the boundaries, or identifying the place or site of, a piece of land, according to the description given in an entry, plan, map, etc
Place
The proper or designated role or function
The place of the media in a free society.
Location
(Kenya) An administrative region in Kenya, below counties and subcounties, and further divided into sublocations.
Place
The proper or customary position or order
These books are out of place.
Location
The act or process of locating.
Place
A suitable setting or occasion
Not the place to argue.
Location
Situation; place; locality.
Place
The appropriate right or duty
Not her place to criticize.
Location
That which is located; a tract of land designated in place.
Place
Social station
He overstepped his place.
Location
A leasing on rent.
Place
A particular situation or circumstance
Put yourself in my place.
Location
A point or extent in space
Place
High rank or status.
Location
The act of putting something in a certain place or location
Place
A job, post, or position
Found a place in the company.
Location
A determination of the location of something;
He got a good fix on the target
Place
Relative position in a series; standing.
Location
Location can be a setting or scene in a narrative;
The novel's Location shifts dramatically in the second chapter.
Place
(Games) Second position for betting purposes, as in a horserace.
Place
The specified stage in a list of points to be made, as in an argument
In the first place.
Place
(Mathematics) A position in a numeral or series.
Place
To put in or as if in a particular place or position; set.
Place
To put in a specified relation or order
Place the words in alphabetical order.
Place
To offer for consideration
Placed the matter before the board.
Place
To find accommodation or employment for.
Place
To put into a particular condition
Placed him under arrest.
Place
To arrange for the publication or display of
Place an advertisement in the newspaper.
Place
To appoint to a post
Placed her in a key position.
Place
To rank in an order or sequence
I'd place him second best.
Place
To estimate
Placed the distance at 100 feet.
Place
To identify or classify in a particular context
Could not place that person's face.
Place
To give an order for
Place a bet.
Place
To apply or arrange for
Place an order.
Place
To make or obtain a connection for (a telephone call).
Place
To sell (a new issue of stock, bonds, or other securities).
Place
To adjust (one's voice) for the best possible effects.
Place
To be among those who finish a competition or race, especially to finish second.
Place
(physical) An area; somewhere within an area.
Place
An open space, particularly a city square, market square, or courtyard.
Place
A street, sometimes but not always surrounding a public place, square, or plaza of the same name.
They live at Westminster Place.
Place
An inhabited area: a village, town, or city.
Place
Any area of the earth: a region.
He is going back to his native place on vacation.
Place
The area one occupies, particularly somewhere to sit.
We asked the restaurant to give us a table with three places.
Place
The area where one lives: one's home, formerly country estates and farms.
Do you want to come over to my place later?
Place
An area of the body, especially the skin.
Which place hurts the most?
Place
An area to urinate and defecate: an outhouse or lavatory.
Place
An area to fight: a battlefield or the contested ground in a battle.
Place
A location or position in space.
Place
A particular location in a book or document, particularly the current location of a reader.
Place
A passage or extract from a book or document.
Place
A topic.
Place
A state of mind.
I'm in a strange place at the moment.
Place
A chess position; a square of the chessboard.
Place
(social) A responsibility or position in an organization.
Place
A role or purpose; a station.
It is really not my place to say what is right and wrong in this case.
Place
The position of a contestant in a competition.
We thought we would win but only ended up in fourth place.
Place
(horse-racing) The position of first, second, or third at the finish, especially the second position.
To win a bet on a horse for place
Place
The position as a member of a sports team.
He lost his place in the national team.
Place
A fortified position: a fortress, citadel, or walled town.
Place
Numerically, the column counting a certain quantity.
Three decimal places;
The hundreds place
Place
Ordinal relation; position in the order of proceeding.
That's what I said in the first place!
Place
Reception; effect; implying the making room for.
Place
(transitive) To put (an object or person) in a specific location.
He placed the glass on the table.
Place
(intransitive) To earn a given spot in a competition.
The Cowboys placed third in the league.
Place
To finish second, especially of horses or dogs.
In the third race: Aces Up won, paying eight dollars; Blarney Stone placed, paying three dollars; and Cinnamon showed, paying five dollars.
Place
To rank at (a certain position, often followed by an ordinal) as in a horse race.
Run Ragged was placed fourth in the race.
Place
(transitive) To remember where and when (an object or person) has been previously encountered.
I've seen him before, but I can't quite place where.
Place
(transitive) To sing (a note) with the correct pitch.
Place
(transitive) To arrange for or to make (a bet).
I placed ten dollars on the Lakers beating the Bulls.
Place
(transitive) To establish a call connection by telephone or similar.
Place
(transitive) To recruit or match an appropriate person for a job, or a home for an animal for adoption, etc.
They phoned hoping to place her in the management team.
Place
To place-kick (a goal).
Place
Any portion of space regarded as measured off or distinct from all other space, or appropriated to some definite object or use; position; ground; site; spot; rarely, unbounded space.
Here is the place appointed.
What place can be for usWithin heaven's bound?
The word place has sometimes a more confused sense, and stands for that space which any body takes up; and so the universe is a place.
Place
A broad way in a city; an open space; an area; a court or short part of a street open only at one end.
Place
A position which is occupied and held; a dwelling; a mansion; a village, town, or city; a fortified town or post; a stronghold; a region or country.
Are you native of this place?
Place
Rank; degree; grade; order of priority, advancement, dignity, or importance; especially, social rank or position; condition; also, official station; occupation; calling.
Men in great place are thrice servants.
I know my place as I would they should do theirs.
Place
Vacated or relinquished space; room; stead (the departure or removal of another being or thing being implied).
Place
A definite position or passage of a document.
The place of the scripture which he read was this.
Place
Ordinal relation; position in the order of proceeding; as, he said in the first place.
Place
Reception; effect; - implying the making room for.
My word hath no place in you.
Place
Position in the heavens, as of a heavenly body; - usually defined by its right ascension and declination, or by its latitude and longitude.
Place
The position of first, second, or third at the finish, esp. the second position. In betting, to win a bet on a horse for place it must, in the United States, finish first or second, in England, usually, first, second, or third.
Place
To assign a place to; to put in a particular spot or place, or in a certain relative position; to direct to a particular place; to fix; to settle; to locate; as, to place a book on a shelf; to place balls in tennis.
Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown.
Place
To put or set in a particular rank, office, or position; to surround with particular circumstances or relations in life; to appoint to certain station or condition of life; as, in whatever sphere one is placed.
Place such over them to be rulers.
Place
To put out at interest; to invest; to loan; as, to place money in a bank.
Place
To set; to fix; to repose; as, to place confidence in a friend.
Place
To attribute; to ascribe; to set down.
Place it for her chief virtue.
Place
To determine or announce the place of at the finish. Usually, in horse racing only the first three horses are placed officially.
Place
To place-kick ( a goal).
Place
To recognize or identify (a person).
Place
A point located with respect to surface features of some region;
This is a nice place for a picnic
Place
Any area set aside for a particular purpose;
Who owns this place?
The president was concerned about the property across from the White House
Place
An abstract mental location;
He has a special place in my thoughts
A place in my heart
A political system with no place for the less prominent groups
Place
A general vicinity;
He comes from a place near Chicago
Place
The function or position properly or customarily occupied or served by another;
Can you go in my stead?
Took his place
In lieu of
Place
A particular situation;
If you were in my place what would you do?
Place
Where you live at a particular time;
Deliver the package to my home
He doesn't have a home to go to
Your place or mine?
Place
A job in an organization;
He occupied a post in the treasury
Place
The particular portion of space occupied by a physical object;
He put the lamp back in its place
Place
Proper or designated social situation;
He overstepped his place
The responsibilities of a man in his station
Married above her station
Place
A space reserved for sitting (as in a theater or on a train or airplane);
He booked their seats in advance
He sat in someone else's place
Place
The passage that is being read;
He lost his place on the page
Place
Proper or appropriate position or location;
A woman's place is no longer in the kitchen
Place
A public square with room for pedestrians;
They met at Elm Plaza
Grosvenor Place
Place
An item on a list or in a sequence;
In the second place
Moved from third to fifth position
Place
A blank area;
Write your name in the space provided
Place
Put into a certain place or abstract location;
Put your things here
Set the tray down
Set the dogs on the scent of the missing children
Place emphasis on a certain point
Place
Place somebody in a particular situation or location;
He was placed on probation
Place
Assign a rank or rating to;
How would you rank these students?
The restaurant is rated highly in the food guide
Place
Assign a location to;
The company located some of their agents in Los Angeles
Place
To arrange for;
Place a phone call
Place a bet
Place
Take a place in a competition; often followed by an ordinal;
Jerry came in third in the Marathon
Place
Intend (something) to move towards a certain goal;
He aimed his fists towards his opponent's face
Criticism directed at her superior
Direct your anger towards others, not towards yourself
Place
Recognize as being; establish the identity of someone or something;
She identified the man on the 'wanted' poster
Place
Assign to (a job or a home)
Place
Locate;
The film is set in Africa
Place
Estimate;
We put the time of arrival at 8 P.M.
Place
Identify the location or place of;
We localized the source of the infection
Place
Make an investment;
Put money into bonds
Place
Assign to a station
Place
Finish second or better in a horse or dog race;
He bet $2 on number six to place
Place
Sing a note with the correct pitch
Place
Place can be an area used for a particular purpose;
This Place is reserved for VIP guests.
Place
Place can refer to a dwelling or home;
My Place is just a few blocks away.
Place
Place indicates a particular situation;
You have a special Place in my heart.
Place
Place can be a point in an order or series;
She finished the race in first Place.
Place
Place can imply an occasion or opportunity;
This is not the Place to discuss politics.
FAQs
Can one Location host multiple Places?
Yes, different groups can ascribe different cultural or emotional meanings to the same Location, creating multiple "Places."
Is a Location always tangible?
Generally, yes, as it refers to a physical point or area, but it can also represent virtual spaces in digital contexts.
Does the meaning of Place vary between individuals?
Yes, Place is subjective and varies based on personal experiences and emotions connected to it.
Are Location and Place interchangeable in conversation?
Sometimes, but Location is more specific, while Place has a broader, more subjective meaning.
Can a Place be without a specific Location?
Conceptually, yes. "Place" can refer to a non-specific area or refer to an idea or situation, not just a physical Location.
Can a Location and a Place refer to the same physical area?
Yes, but Location refers to the geographical coordinates, while Place includes emotional and cultural associations.
Is Location more scientific than Place?
Yes, Location is based on factual, geographical data, whereas Place is a humanistic concept.
Can virtual environments have Locations and Places?
Yes, in digital spaces, "Location" can refer to data points, while "Place" can refer to the meaning users ascribe to these digital spaces.
Does everyone have the same emotional connection to a Place?
No, emotional connections to a Place are individual and based on personal experiences.
Why is the concept of Place important in sociology?
Place involves social attachments and cultural significance, key factors in understanding societal behavior.
Can a Place change over time?
Absolutely, as human experiences and societal values evolve, the significance of a Place can change.
Do maps show Locations or Places?
Maps show Locations; however, Places are understood by the cultural and emotional significance we attach to these Locations.
Is a Location fixed?
Yes, a Location represents a fixed point or area, while the interpretation of a Place can vary.
Does the language spoken change the understanding of Location and Place?
It can, as different languages might encapsulate different cultural meanings and nuances about Location and Place.
Can fictional works create Places?
Yes, writers can create fictional Places with rich context and emotional connections, even without real-world Locations.
How do human experiences transform a Location into a Place?
Through emotional, cultural, historical, and personal engagements with the Location.
Can animals create Places, or is it uniquely human?
Animals have territories (Locations), but the concept of Place, with cultural and emotional significance, is human.
Why is Location important in business?
Location determines accessibility, presence in markets, logistical needs, and customer demographics.
How does geography study Locations?
By examining physical coordinates, terrain, climate, and how these factors influence human activity.
How does history affect a Place?
Historical events add layers of meaning, heritage, and significance to a Place.
About Author
Written by
Janet WhiteJanet White has been an esteemed writer and blogger for Difference Wiki. Holding a Master's degree in Science and Medical Journalism from the prestigious Boston University, she has consistently demonstrated her expertise and passion for her field. When she's not immersed in her work, Janet relishes her time exercising, delving into a good book, and cherishing moments with friends and family.
Edited by
Harlon MossHarlon is a seasoned quality moderator and accomplished content writer for Difference Wiki. An alumnus of the prestigious University of California, he earned his degree in Computer Science. Leveraging his academic background, Harlon brings a meticulous and informed perspective to his work, ensuring content accuracy and excellence.
