central
1 Americanadjective
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of or forming the center.
the central hut in the village.
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in, at, or near the center.
a central position.
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constituting something from which other related things proceed or upon which they depend.
a central office.
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the play's central character.
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Anatomy, Zoology.
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of or relating to the central nervous system.
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of or relating to the centrum of a vertebra.
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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.
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Physics. (of a force) directed to or from a fixed point.
noun
noun
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centrals,
plural
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centrales
plural
noun
adjective
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in, at, of, from, containing, or forming the centre of something
the central street in a city
the central material of a golf ball
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main, principal, or chief; most important
the central cause of a problem
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of or relating to the central nervous system
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of or relating to the centrum of a vertebra
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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
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(of a force) directed from or towards a point
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informal (immediately postpositive) used to describe a place where a specified thing, quality, etc is to be found in abundance
nostalgia central
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
Vocabulary lists containing central
The SAT: Language of the Test, List 2
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The Language of Standardized Tests, List 1
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PARCC: Language of the Test (Grade7)
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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.
See Examples For:
Panama has declared an emergency over El Nino, which raises surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean and causes global changes in winds and rainfall as well as erratic weather conditions.
From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026
Bank of England Chief Economist Huw Pill said the central bank should raise its key interest rate to limit the risk of prolonged high inflation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
Some elements of it were chosen in consultation with an Indigenous advisory council, the central bank added.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
After Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh spoke last week from Jackson Hole, Wyo., markets were pretty convinced that the central bank would raise interest rates in September.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026
The central rocket burned another three minutes, then dropped off.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
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Central Command declined to comment, citing operational security.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
A resident in Central Kalimantan told BBC News Indonesia he had been experiencing wildfires "for more than a month".
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
It’s unlikely any significant rain from Marie will make it farther north than the Central Coast, the weather service office in Monterey said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
These landowners, largely in the Central Valley and the Central Coast, would no longer have to pay fees for the conversions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
The study that founded modern biology was buried in the pages of an obscure journal of an obscure scientific society, read mostly by plant breeders in a declining Central European town.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
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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
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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 William T. Preyer
Others, known as "colonos," are planters only, the crop being sold to the mills commonly called "centrales."
From Cuba, Old and New by Albert G. (Albert Gardner) Robinson
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 A. S. (Alpheus Spring) Packard
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 William Walton
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
Its 15 "centrals" are pals with their customers, keep them in touch with local gossip.
From Time Magazine Archive
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About the centrals was a new and unexpected enthusiasm.
From Time Magazine Archive
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They claim that a majority of Cuba's 175 "centrals" are now operating at a loss or barely paying expenses.
From Time Magazine Archive
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“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
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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.