Unlocatable

Unlocatable is an adjective used to describe something that cannot be located or found with the available means. It can refer to a physical object, a signal, a person, or information whose position or existence is unknown.

The word is formed by the prefix un- meaning not and the verb locate, with the suffix -able indicating capability. It is standard English and is often used alongside related forms such as locatable, unfindable, or untraceable.

In practice, unlocatable issues arise in navigation and surveying when signals are blocked or lost, in inventory management when records are incomplete, and in telecommunications when locating a device is not possible. In discussions of privacy or security, unlocatable identifiers or addresses describe items that are difficult to trace.

Compared with locatable or traceable, unlocatable emphasizes the failure to determine a location rather than the presence or absence of a known path for tracking. Related terms include untraceable, unfindable, elusive, and missing.