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
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.
Growing up in Canada, David Jardine thought of the US as not just a neighbour, but an epicentre of culture and cool.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
"The police later said I was probably the first alive person in the epicentre of it - it was just total devastation."
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
AFP saw several residents of the small town of Mbay, in Nagekeo regency nearest the epicentre, camped out in makeshift tents they had erected using tarpaulins and poles.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
The epicentre of the shallow quake was just north of Flores island in eastern Indonesia.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
In the neighbourhood of the Rantowles epicentre, the isoseismals in both Figs.
From A Study of Recent Earthquakes by Charles Davison
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.
