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.
On Saturday I stood in the nerve center of an aircraft carrier sailing in the Arabian Sea and addressed the entire crew on the general announcing system.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
When the Iranian missiles and drones came for the nerve center of America’s naval operations in the Middle East, some of them hit their mark.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 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
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
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.
