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.
“UMA is designed to create transparent, marketwide accountability around resolutions rather than relying on a single centralized decision maker.”
From Barron's • May 12, 2026
The disruption underscored how dependent higher education has become on centralized digital platforms that now manage nearly every aspect of academic life, from assignments and testing to communication and grading.
From Salon • May 9, 2026
FDEs would send their front-line code back to centralized product engineers, who would repackage the field solutions into generalizable tools for future use.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 4, 2026
The move is aimed at streamlining the pre-dispute process and prevent disputes by surfacing transaction details, improve confidence in dispute resolution outcomes, and unify dispute workflows into a centralized platform.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026
Throughout human history, centralized states with metal weapons and armies supported by dense agricultural populations have swept away sparser populations of stone-tool-using hunter-gatherers.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Definitions 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.
