epicentre
Britishnoun
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the point on the earth's surface directly above the focus of an earthquake or underground nuclear explosion Compare focus
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informal the absolute centre of something
the epicentre of world sprinting
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of epicentre
C19: from New Latin epicentrum, from Greek epikentros over the centre, from epi- + kentron needle; see centre
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.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who spoke to Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi on Monday, travelled to the epicentre of the outbreak on Saturday.
From Barron's • Jun. 2, 2026
On Sunday, there was a ceremony for a group of four nurses who were discharged from a hospital in Bunia, the provincial capital of Ituri, the epicentre of the outbreak.
From BBC • Jun. 1, 2026
He had been due to travel Friday to Ituri, a remote northeastern province that is the epicentre of the country's 17th Ebola outbreak, but the trip has been pushed back by a day.
From Barron's • May 29, 2026
The constituency is suddenly at the epicentre of British politics - and the result could decide the next prime minister.
From BBC • May 28, 2026
Outside the ruinous zone, the first phase rapidly lost what remained of its subsultory form, and the pause between the two parts was noticeably longer than near the epicentre.
From A Study of Recent Earthquakes by Davison, Charles
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.
