center

[ sen-ter ]

noun

1. Geometry. the middle point, as the point within a circle or sphere equally distant from all points of the circumference or surface, or the point within a regular polygon equally distant from the vertices.

   Antonyms: edge

2. a point, pivot, axis, etc., around which anything rotates or revolves:

   The sun is the center of the solar system.

3. the source of an influence, action, force, etc.:

   the center of a problem.

4. a point, place, person, etc., upon which interest, emotion, etc., focuses:

   His family is the center of his life.

5. a principal point, place, or object:

   a shipping center.

6. a building or part of a building used as a meeting place for a particular group or having facilities for certain activities:

   a youth center; The company has a complete recreation center in the basement.

7. an office or other facility providing a specific service or dealing with a particular emergency:

   a flood-relief center; a crisis center.

8. a person, thing, group, etc., occupying the middle position, especially a body of troops.
9. the core or middle of anything:

   chocolate candies with fruit centers.

10. a store or establishment devoted to a particular subject or hobby, carrying supplies, materials, tools, and books as well as offering guidance and advice:

    a garden center; a nutrition center.

11. shopping center.
12. (usually initial capital letter) Government.
    1. the part of a legislative assembly, especially in continental Europe, that sits in the center of the chamber, a position customarily assigned to members of the legislature who hold political views intermediate between those of the Right and Left.
    2. the members of such an assembly who sit in the Center.
    3. the political position of persons who hold moderate views.
    4. politically moderate persons, taken collectively; Centrists; middle-of-the-roaders:

       Unfortunately, his homeland has always lacked a responsible Center.

13. Football.
    1. a lineman who occupies a position in the middle of the line and who puts the ball into play by tossing it between his legs to a back.
    2. the position played by this lineman.
14. Basketball.
    1. a player who participates in a center jump.
    2. the position of the player in the center of the court, where the center jump takes place at the beginning of play.
15. Ice Hockey. a player who participates in a face-off at the beginning of play.
16. Baseball. center field.
17. Physiology. a cluster of nerve cells governing a specific organic process:

    the vasomotor center.

18. Mathematics.
    1. the mean position of a figure or system.
    2. the set of elements of a group that commute with every element of the group.
19. Machinery.
    1. a tapered rod, mounted in the headstock spindle live center or the tailstock spindle dead center of a lathe, upon which the work to be turned is placed.
    2. one of two similar points on some other machine, as a planing machine, enabling an object to be turned on its axis.
    3. a tapered indentation, in a piece to be turned on a lathe, into which a center is fitted.

verb (used with object)

1. to place in or on a center:

   She centered the clock on the mantelpiece.

2. to collect to or around a center; focus:

   He centered his novel on the Civil War.

3. to determine or mark the center of:

   A small brass star centered the tabletop.

4. to adjust, shape, or modify (an object, part, etc.) so that its axis or the like is in a central or normal position:

   to center the lens of a telescope; to center the work on a lathe.

5. to place (an object, part, etc.) so as to be equidistant from all bordering or adjacent areas.
6. Football. snap ( def 22 ).
7. to pass (a basketball, hockey puck, etc.) from any place along the periphery toward the middle of the playing area.

verb (used without object)

1. to be at or come to a center.
2. to come to a focus; converge; concentrate (followed by at, about, around, in, or on ):

   The interest of the book centers specifically on the character of the eccentric hero. Political power in the town centers in the position of mayor.

3. to gather or accumulate in a cluster; collect (followed by at, about, around, in, or on ):

   Shops and municipal buildings center around the city square.

center

/ ˈsɛntə /

noun

1. the US spelling of centre

Usage Note

Although sometimes condemned for alleged illogicality, the phrases center about and center around have appeared in edited writing for more than a century to express the sense of gathering or collecting as if around a center: The objections center around the question of fiscal responsibility.

Other Words From

• center·a·ble adjective
• center·less adjective
• super·center noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of center¹

First recorded in 1325–75; variant of Middle English centre, from Latin centrum, from Greek kéntron “needle, spur, pivoting point in drawing a circle,” derivative of kenteîn “to sting”

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. on center, from the centerline or midpoint of a structural member, an area of a plan, etc., to that of a similar member, area, etc.: : o.c.

   The studs are set 30 inches on center.

More idioms and phrases containing center

In addition to the idiom beginning with center , also see front and center .

Synonym Study

See middle.

Example Sentences

The city attorney’s office remains at the center of that case, and is pursuing civil action against the property owner and organizer for maintaining a public nuisance.

From Voice of San Diego

Barcelona arranged a two-week stay at La Masia, the club’s famed developmental center in Spain.

From Washington Post

When ships arrived at Acapulco from Asia each year, arrieros loaded the cargo and carried it across mountains, vast forests and large river valleys to distant urban centers and innumerable nearby pueblos.

From Washington Post

Social distancing measures and the rising popularity of e-commerce have continued to hurt foot traffic and sales at many malls and outlet centers, even during the holidays.

From Quartz

The Chiefs managed just nine points, their lowest offensive output with Mahomes starting under center.

From Washington Post

Note: UNICOR uses its inmates for everything from call center operators to human demolishers of old computers.

From The Daily Beast

It is the only tourist center Ukraine has left on the Black Sea, since Russia annexed Crimea last spring.

From The Daily Beast

The resources were what you might expect: Dining room, a media center, a library, a TV room, a meeting room, a computer room.

From The Daily Beast

So not only will the GOP have control in the Senate, it will move the center of gravity on Capitol Hill hard to starboard.

From The Daily Beast

Adam Thierer is a senior research fellow with the Technology Policy Program at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

From The Daily Beast

The controlling center of consciousness is the extreme limit of the nares anteri.

From Project Gutenberg

In the center of the river line stood the imposing red sandstone palace of Bahadur Shah, last of the Moguls.

From Project Gutenberg

The artillery and 81st were on the right of the line, the native infantry in the center, and the sowars on the left.

From Project Gutenberg

Touch the center of a cover-glass to the top of the drop and quickly place it, blood side down, upon a slide.

From Project Gutenberg

The buildings grew higher toward the center of the dome, but I stopped while they were still two stories.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• attract
• focus
• gather
• intensify
• meet