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• 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.

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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.

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Central ³ American  

[sen-truhl] / ˈsɛn trəl /

noun

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

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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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• centrally
  adverb

Inflected Forms

noun

• centrales
  plural
• centrals
  plural

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

While Panama is the only Central American country that qualified for the World Cup, the 35-year-old continues to receive commission requests for pieces that highlight nations like El Salvador and Guatemala.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2026

GDP was 12.1% smaller in the three months through March than it was in the previous quarter, according to Ireland’s Central Statistics Office.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026

At the time, officials were deploying around 500 to 700 million sterile flies across Central America per week, according to Sonja Swiger, an entomologist for Texas A&M University.

From BBC • Jun. 5, 2026

Central Command—or that he’d been named Air Force chief of staff in March 2020, to no objection from the president at the time, Donald Trump.

From Slate • Jun. 5, 2026

Kate struggled on, living with her sons a few blocks from Central Park in a dingy apartment.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

Related Words

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