Jump to:

• central
  central

  adjective

  of or forming the center.
• Central
  Central

  noun

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

central

¹ American  

[sen-truhl] / ˈsɛn trəl /

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 American  

[sen-trahl, sen-trahl] / sɛnˈtrɑl, sɛnˈtrɑl /

noun

centrals, plural centrales plural

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

---

Central ³ American  

[sen-truhl] / ˈsɛn trəl /

noun

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

---

central British  

/ 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

Etymology

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

Explanation

Anything central is in the middle of something — or essential to it. Central things are fundamental and important. Think about the center of a circle: it's right in the middle, equidistant from all sides. Similarly, anything central is in the middle of something. The central part of a city is downtown. You can also say something central is an important, crucial part of something. National security is a central responsibility of the President. Communication is a central goal of writing. Central things are essential and key.

Example Sentences

Scientists also identified similarities between feline and human cancers affecting the blood, bones, lungs, skin, gastrointestinal tract, and central nervous system.

From Science Daily • May 24, 2026

But no vaccine or treatment exists for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola responsible for the vast central African country's 17th outbreak of the disease, believed to have already killed 204 people.

From Barron's • May 24, 2026

In addition, in central Gaza, the Israeli military has been fortifying the line with a deep trench and high sand berms along its length, satellite images show.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 24, 2026

The epicenter of the drone-fueled combat is in central Sudan’s Kordofan region, which is divided into North, South and West Kordofan states.

From Los Angeles Times • May 24, 2026

In early March, General William Westmoreland, commander of American forces in Vietnam, requested that two battalions of marines be sent to Vietnam to help guard the American airfield at Da Nang in central Vietnam.

From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin

Related Words

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