centralized

American  

[sen-truh-lahyzd] / ˈsɛn trəˌlaɪzd /

especially British, centralised

adjective

1. 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.

2. 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.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of centralize.

Other Word Forms

• uncentralized
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of centralized

centralize ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

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."

Example Sentences

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

Live offers a more centralized, campus-style setting, with venues and event spaces clustered together.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks are platform providers, which means they integrate multiple security tools into a centralized interface.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 14, 2026

Together, these studies suggest that early nervous systems may have been more centralized than scientists previously believed.

From Science Daily • Mar. 6, 2026

For Indigenous peoples, this meant that they would be dealing with the centralized federal government rather than individual states about key matters such as trade and treaties.

From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

Related Words

• constitutional
• domestic
• in-house
• intramural
• national
• private
• subjective