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.
But Jones described a rare ecosystem housing specialist plants, butterflies and insects, "where the UK is the epicentre globally".
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 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
Residents in Nagekeo, the area closest to the epicentre, raced for higher ground as the sea retreated earlier Saturday -- a possible sign of an approaching tsunami, AFP journalists witnessed.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
Seismometers nearest the epicentre registered shaking lasting between 90 seconds and two minutes.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Thus, the rapid decline of intensity from the epicentre outwards shows that, in each of the four great Ischian earthquakes, the depths of the focus must have been very small.
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.
