- past tense form of centralize.
- past participle of centralize.
centralized
Americanadjective
-
controlled from one place.
The individual police departments will transition to the centralized dispatch system beginning in October.
After years of opting for top-down regulatory approaches, the new administration has decided to move toward a less centralized form of government oversight.
-
existing in one place, or being the center point of a network: The system allows users to record subscriber complaints in a single database, creating a centralized source of information to assist us in pinpointing systematic delivery problems.
Each computer has a twisted-pair cable that runs to a centralized hub.
The system allows users to record subscriber complaints in a single database, creating a centralized source of information to assist us in pinpointing systematic delivery problems.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of centralized
Explanation
Anything that's centralized is under the control of one unified authority or located in a single place, like a centralized government. If a business is centralized, it operates from a central location, rather than spreading things out between stores, offices, or factories. Managers of satellite offices have less power if they work for a centralized company, where decisions are made in a home office. A centralized government works the same way, with power concentrated in the executive branch. Centralized derives from a Latin word meaning "center" and the Greek root kentron, "sharp point."
Vocabulary lists containing centralized
Eastern Europe - Introductory
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Eastern Europe - Middle School and High School
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Japanese History - Middle School and High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Our combined purchasing levels will give us economies of scale by consolidating purchasing decisions into one centralized group,” the executives said in their letter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2026
Perpetual contracts tied to a number of cryptocurrencies and real-world assets are currently traded outside the U.S. on centralized exchanges like Binance, as well as on decentralized platforms like Hyperliquid.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2026
When asked whether West Virginia’s centralized approach to data-center development made more sense than the way most states are doing it, Van Nieuwerburgh called it “interesting.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
Oil giants ExxonMobil and Chevron both based in the Houston region, have acquired rivals once based in New York, Denver and Irving, Texas and centralized corporate functions in Houston.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
The theory also notes that any big, complex system for irrigation or hydraulic management requires a centralized bureaucracy to construct and maintain it.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
