nerve center
Americannoun
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a group of nerve cells closely connected with one another and acting together in the performance of some function.
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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.
Amalgamated, which was founded in 1923 by labor organizer Sidney Hillman, is one of the smaller financial institutions in the country’s financial nerve center, with a single branch in Manhattan.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
Located in Albany near the Canadian border, the New York State Capitol is the nerve center of the state government and contains both houses of the state's legislature.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
The department has requested more than $54 billion for its drone nerve center, called the Defense Autonomous Warfare Group, or DAWG, up from around $225 million this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
Cyber Command – the military nerve center for cybersecurity – partnered to launch what was initially called the Russia Small Group, a task force to guard U.S. election infrastructure against Russian interference.
From Salon ● May 21, 2026
Resisting Houston’s call, not following the nerve center of the space program across the country, was difficult for Katherine and many of her Langley colleagues.
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.
