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• central
  central

  adjective

  of or forming the center.
• Central
  Central

  noun

  a region in central Scotland. 1,016 sq. mi. (2,631 sq. km).

central

¹ American  

[sen-truhl] / ˈsɛn trəl /

adjective

1. of or forming the center.

   the central hut in the village.

2. in, at, or near the center.

   a central position.

3. constituting something from which other related things proceed or upon which they depend.

   a central office.

4. principal; chief; dominant.

   the play's central character.

   Synonyms:

   primary, leading, key, main, major

5. Anatomy, Zoology.

   1. of or relating to the central nervous system.

   2. of or relating to the centrum of a vertebra.

6. Phonetics. (of a speech sound) produced with the tongue articulating neither expressly forward nor in the back part of the mouth, as any of the sounds of lull.

7. Physics. (of a force) directed to or from a fixed point.

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noun

1. (formerly)

   1. a main telephone exchange.

   2. a telephone operator at such an exchange.

central ² American  

[sen-trahl, sen-trahl] / sɛnˈtrɑl, sɛnˈtrɑl /

noun

• centrals,
  plural
• centrales
  plural

1. (in Spanish America and the Philippines) a mill for crushing cane into raw sugar.

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Central ³ American  

[sen-truhl] / ˈsɛn trəl /

noun

1. a region in central Scotland. 1,016 sq. mi. (2,631 sq. km).

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central British  

/ ˈsɛntrəl /

adjective

1. in, at, of, from, containing, or forming the centre of something

   the central street in a city

   the central material of a golf ball

2. main, principal, or chief; most important

   the central cause of a problem

3. 1. of or relating to the central nervous system

   2. of or relating to the centrum of a vertebra

4. of, relating to, or denoting a vowel articulated with the tongue held in an intermediate position halfway between the positions for back and front vowels, as for the a of English soda

5. (of a force) directed from or towards a point

6. informal (immediately postpositive) used to describe a place where a specified thing, quality, etc is to be found in abundance

   nostalgia central

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• centrally
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• centrales
  plural
• centrals
  plural

Etymology

Origin of central¹

First recorded in 1620–30; from Latin centrālis, “centrally located,” equivalent to centr(um) center + -ālis -al ¹

Origin of central²

First recorded in 1885–90; from Latin American Spanish, special use of Spanish central central ¹

Explanation

Anything central is in the middle of something — or essential to it. Central things are fundamental and important. Think about the center of a circle: it's right in the middle, equidistant from all sides. Similarly, anything central is in the middle of something. The central part of a city is downtown. You can also say something central is an important, crucial part of something. National security is a central responsibility of the President. Communication is a central goal of writing. Central things are essential and key.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

central Central centrales centrals

Simply put, the South and South West of England are now frequently getting the kind of summers found in central France 20 years ago.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

As of June, Brasilia was spending more than it took in at a pace equivalent to 10% of GDP, according to the central bank.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

The rack-scale system connects 72 of Nvidia’s Rubin GPUs with 36 of its Vera central processing units.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

At the eclipse's maximum point, about 93% of the Moon's diameter will lie within Earth's dark central shadow, known as the umbra.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026

The central doctrine of liberation theology was that the Catholic Church had an obligation to provide a “preferential option for the poor.”

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

Central midfielder Harrison Armstrong has been with Everton since the age of five and established himself as a key member of the first team in the second half of last season.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

Guatemalan authorities issued the country's second-highest emergency alert level on Monday after a major eruption of Central America's most active volcano, prompting the evacuation of nearby villages.

From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026

However, the franc weakened following Schlegel’s comments and an interest-rate hike by the European Central Bank in June, easing disinflationary pressures.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

Uefa and Concacaf - which oversees football in North, Central America and the Caribbean - both released statements on Saturday criticising the leadership of the world governing body following Infantino's decision to withdraw the plan.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

The boy who I once considered to be my closest friend had only ended up in Chicago because he’d stowed away on a train from Grand Central Depot.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

Celia imagines the cane she cuts being ground in the centrales, and its thick sap collected in vats.

From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García

As at present organized, the force is divided into twenty-six brigades, one for each arrondissement and six companies, known as the reserve, formerly the brigades centrales.

From Paris From the Earliest Period to the Present Day; Volume 2 by Walton, William

The two sulci centrales sive fissuræ Rolandi run straight to the border of the hemisphere, less deeply impressed than is normally the case, without forming an angle with each other.

From The Mind of the Child, Part II The Development of the Intellect, International Education Series Edited By William T. Harris, Volume IX. by Preyer, William T.

Others, known as "colonos," are planters only, the crop being sold to the mills commonly called "centrales."

From Cuba, Old and New by Robinson, Albert G. (Albert Gardner)

At that time the Museum sent out to the Écoles centrales of the different departments of France named collections made up from the duplicates, and in this sort of drudgery Lamarck took an active part.

From Lamarck, the Founder of Evolution His Life and Work by Packard, A. S. (Alpheus Spring)

Heating to such houses is supplied by large plants known as TETs - an acronym that stands for "heat and electricity centrals" in Ukrainian as they generate electricity as well as heat.

From BBC ● Jan. 24, 2026

At the base of the pyramid is a membership of 2,889,550 represented by 29,574 local unions, 804 city centrals, 49 State branches, 4 departments.

From Time Magazine Archive

About the centrals was a new and unexpected enthusiasm.

From Time Magazine Archive

They claim that a majority of Cuba's 175 "centrals" are now operating at a loss or barely paying expenses.

From Time Magazine Archive

“Okay, two of them can go back in. Your centrals, or as you know them, your two front teeth,” Dr. Maris declared, looking pleased.

From "As Brave As You" by Jason Reynolds

Related Words

• basic
• essential
• fundamental
• important
• key
• paramount
• pivotal
• significant