centering

[ sen-ter-ing ]

/ ˈsɛn tər ɪŋ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR centering ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a temporary framework for supporting a masonry arch during construction until it is able to stand by itself.

Nearby words

Origin of centering

First recorded in 1760–70; center + -ing¹

center

[ sen-ter ]

/ ˈsɛn tər /

noun

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.

a point, pivot, axis, etc., around which anything rotates or revolves: The sun is the center of the solar system.

the source of an influence, action, force, etc.: the center of a problem.

a point, place, person, etc., upon which interest, emotion, etc., focuses: His family is the center of his life.

a principal point, place, or object: a shipping center.

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.

an office or other facility providing a specific service or dealing with a particular emergency: a flood-relief center; a crisis center.

a person, thing, group, etc., occupying the middle position, especially a body of troops.

the core or middle of anything: chocolate candies with fruit centers.

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.

shopping center.

(usually initial capital letter) Government.

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.
the members of such an assembly who sit in the Center.
the political position of persons who hold moderate views.
politically moderate persons, taken collectively; Centrists; middle-of-the-roaders: Unfortunately, his homeland has always lacked a responsible Center.

Football.

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.
the position played by this lineman.

Basketball.

a player who participates in a center jump.
the position of the player in the center of the court, where the center jump takes place at the beginning of play.

Ice Hockey. a player who participates in a face-off at the beginning of play.

Baseball. center field.

Physiology. a cluster of nerve cells governing a specific organic process: the vasomotor center.

Mathematics.

the mean position of a figure or system.
the set of elements of a group that commute with every element of the group.

Machinery.

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.
one of two similar points on some other machine, as a planing machine, enabling an object to be turned on its axis.
a tapered indentation, in a piece to be turned on a lathe, into which a center is fitted.

verb (used with object)

to place in or on a center: She centered the clock on the mantelpiece.

to collect to or around a center; focus: He centered his novel on the Civil War.

to determine or mark the center of: A small brass star centered the tabletop.

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.

to place (an object, part, etc.) so as to be equidistant from all bordering or adjacent areas.

Football. snap(def 21).

to pass (a basketball, hockey puck, etc.) from any place along the periphery toward the middle of the playing area.

verb (used without object)

to be at or come to a center.

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.

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.

Also especially British, cen·tre.

Origin of center

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

SYNONYMS FOR center

1. See middle.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR center ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR center

1. edge.

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Related formscen·ter·a·ble, adjectivecen·ter·less, adjectivesu·per·cen·ter, noun

Usage note

28. 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.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for centering

In fact, the scene was a rather optimistic one, centering on pride that Lonegan had outperformed initial expectations.
Cory Booker is Heading to Washington|Matt Taylor|October 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST
It was my lodestone, my centering point, my story as a journalist covering Germany and the East Bloc.
Scaling the Berlin Wall|Michael R. Meyer|October 31, 2009|DAILY BEAST
The instrument is arranged to receive Fuess centering apparatus and crystal holder.
Astronomical Instruments and Accessories|Wm. Gaertner & Co.
All the force of his excited nerves had seemed to be centering in his hands.
The Side Of The Angels|Basil King

Jerry immediately fell silent, centering his attention upon the two men.
Danger at the Drawbridge|Mildred A. Wirt
The centering of a staff in wax has been thoroughly described and in pivoting the proceeding is the same as in staffing.
A Treatise on Staff Making and Pivoting|Eugene E. Hall
He laid the foundation for a scientific grammar of the Slavic languages, centering it on its most ancient type, the Church-Slavic.
Bohemia under Hapsburg Misrule|Various

British Dictionary definitions for centering

centering

/ (ˈsɛntərɪŋ) /

noun

a US spelling of centring

center

/ (ˈsɛntə) /

noun, verb

the US spelling of centre

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for centering

center

1590s, "to concentrate at a center," from center (n.). Related: Centered; centering. Meaning "to rest as at a center" is from 1620s. Sports sense of "to hit toward the center" is from 1890. To be centered on is from 1713. In combinations, -centered is attested by 1958.

center

late 14c., "middle point of a circle; point round which something revolves," from Old French centre (14c.), from Latin centrum "center," originally fixed point of the two points of a drafting compass, from Greek kentron "sharp point, goad, sting of a wasp," from kentein "stitch," from PIE root *kent- "to prick" (cf. Breton kentr "a spur," Welsh cethr "nail," Old High German hantag "sharp, pointed").

Figuratively from 1680s. Meaning "the middle of anything" attested from 1590s. Spelling with -re popularized in Britain by Johnson's dictionary (following Bailey's), though -er is older and was used by Shakespeare, Milton, and Pope. Center of gravity is recorded from 1650s. Center of attention is from 1868.

Medicine definitions for centering

center

[ sĕn′tər ]

n.

A point or place in the body that is equally distant from its sides or outer boundaries; the middle.

A group of neurons in the central nervous system that control a particular function.

Idioms and Phrases with centering

center

In addition to the idiom beginning with center

center of attraction, the

also see:

front and center

centering

noun

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of centering

center

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

Origin of center

Usage note

Examples from the Web for centering

centering

noun

center

noun, verb

center

center

center

n.

center