epicentre

British  

/ ˈɛpɪˌsɛntə /

noun

1. the point on the earth's surface directly above the focus of an earthquake or underground nuclear explosion Compare focus

2. informal the absolute centre of something

   the epicentre of world sprinting

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Other Word Forms

• epicentral adjective

Etymology

Origin of epicentre

C19: from New Latin epicentrum, from Greek epikentros over the centre, from _epi- + kentron needle; see _centre

Example Sentences

The governor of Borno state, the epicentre of Nigeria's 17-year-long jihadist insurgency, said the government shut the market down five years ago.

From Barron's • Apr. 13, 2026

These border districts have become the epicentre of the controversy, where most exclusions occurred in the final phase - under the "logical discrepancy" category.

From BBC • Apr. 12, 2026

The epicentre of this outbreak is believed to be Club Chemistry in Canterbury, according to Health Secretary Wes Streeting.

From Barron's • Mar. 19, 2026

For so long, Andy Murray was the epicentre of British tennis.

From BBC • Jan. 23, 2026

A record of the shock was also given by a Cecchi seismograph at Perpignan in France, but the distance from the epicentre was too great to allow details to be shown.

From A Study of Recent Earthquakes by Davison, Charles