central

¹

[sen-truhl]

adjective

1. of or forming the center.

   the central hut in the village.

2. in, at, or near the center.

   a central position.

3. constituting something from which other related things proceed or upon which they depend.

   a central office.

4. principal; chief; dominant.

   the play's central character.

   Synonyms: primary, leading, key, main, major

5. Anatomy, Zoology.

   1. of or relating to the central nervous system.

   2. of or relating to the centrum of a vertebra.

6. Phonetics.,  (of a speech sound) produced with the tongue articulating neither expressly forward nor in the back part of the mouth, as any of the sounds of lull.

7. Physics.,  (of a force) directed to or from a fixed point.

noun

1. (formerly)

   1. a main telephone exchange.

   2. a telephone operator at such an exchange.

central

²

[sen-trahl, sen-trahl]

noun

plural

centrals ,

plural

centrales .

1. (in Spanish America and the Philippines) a mill for crushing cane into raw sugar.

Central

³

[sen-truhl]

noun

1. a region in central Scotland. 1,016 sq. mi. (2,631 sq. km).

central

/ ˈsɛntrəl /

adjective

1. in, at, of, from, containing, or forming the centre of something

   the central street in a city

   the central material of a golf ball

2. main, principal, or chief; most important

   the central cause of a problem

3. 1. of or relating to the central nervous system

   2. of or relating to the centrum of a vertebra

4. of, relating to, or denoting a vowel articulated with the tongue held in an intermediate position halfway between the positions for back and front vowels, as for the a of English soda

5. (of a force) directed from or towards a point

6. informal,  (immediately postpositive) used to describe a place where a specified thing, quality, etc is to be found in abundance

   nostalgia central

Other Word Forms

• centrally adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of central¹

First recorded in 1620–30; from Latin centrālis, “centrally located,” equivalent to centr(um) center + -ālis -al ¹

Origin of central²

First recorded in 1885–90; from Latin American Spanish, special use of Spanish central central ¹

Example Sentences

Hospitals said two people had been killed on Wednesday while trying to collect food from aid distribution centres in central and southern Gaza.

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Sources familiar with the prosecution’s case told ABC that a central witness’ testimony would make the case “problematic.”

Read more on Salon

Sitting in my office in central London, I was feeling nostalgic.

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Another risk factor which many in the global economy believe the US could be facing is pressure placed on the independence of the Federal Reserve, America's central bank.

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That would be welcome news for Patty Zaragoza, a food service worker at Alhambra Unified’s central kitchen.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• basic 
• essential 
• fundamental 
• important 
• key 
• paramount 
• pivotal 
• significant