nerve center
Americannoun
-
a group of nerve cells closely connected with one another and acting together in the performance of some function.
-
a source of information, authority, action, etc..
The communications room is the nerve center of a battleship.
Etymology
Origin of nerve center
First recorded in 1865–70
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.
Germany is the nerve center of the 85,000-strong U.S. troop presence in Europe, where a dense network of bases helps Washington project power around the world.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026
Located just 150 miles from Israel in the eastern Mediterranean, the island of Cyprus has emerged as a strategic — and exposed — nerve center in the U.S. offensive against Iran.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 5, 2026
She has joined dozens of other volunteers at the Dios Habla Hoy church, which has become a nerve center for locals opposing immigration raids.
From Barron's ● Jan. 30, 2026
The core section on this comes from Russell Vought, now the Trump-appointed director of the Office of Management and Budget, essentially the central nerve center of the federal government.
From Slate ● Feb. 24, 2025
There, on the front wall of the room that served as NASA’s nerve center, was a huge lighted map of the world.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
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.
