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

The Federal Reserve is struggling to persuade some banks to use a lending tool designed to improve the central bank’s control over short-term money markets.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Lagarde, who heads the central bank for the 20-nation euro area, conceded that Europe had "already missed the opportunity to be a first mover in AI".

Read more on Barron's

Investors took to heart comments from New York Fed President John Williams on Friday, who suggested that the central bank could still lower borrowing costs at its December meeting.

Read more on Barron's

The recovery in markets looked set to continue, after the New York Fed president on Friday said he supported a rate cut despite a chorus of voices at the central bank to the contrary.

Read more on MarketWatch

His lack of confidence in central banks, as well as the dollar’s role in the global economy, dovetails with a Wall Street strategy known as the debasement trade.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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