 ##  [Locality of Reference](/locality-reference) 

  ##  [Locality of Reference](https://natural.quantumdictionary.io/locality-reference-0) 

  
 [![Natural & Formal Sciences Dictionary](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2026-01/Natural%20%26%20Formal%20Sciences.png.webp?itok=2kCDRVQv)](/topic-specific-dictionaries/natural-formal-sciences)


**Natural &amp; Formal Sciences Dictionary**

 
Definition

A performance principle that programs and systems tend to access a relatively small set of memory locations repeatedly over short time intervals (temporal locality) and to access locations that are near each other in address space within short intervals (spatial locality).