
The sun is the center of the solar system.
the center of a problem.
His family is the center of his life.
a principal point, place, or object:
a shipping center.
a flood-relief center; a crisis center.
a person, thing, group, etc., occupying the middle position, especially a body of troops.
the core or middle of anything:
chocolate candies with fruit centers.
a garden center; a nutrition center.
shopping center.
(usually initial capital letter) Government.

the part of a legislative assembly, especially in continental Europe, that sits in the center of the chamber, a position customarily assigned to members of the legislature who hold political views intermediate between those of the Right and Left.
the members of such an assembly who sit in the Center.
the political position of persons who hold moderate views.
politically moderate persons, taken collectively; Centrists; middle-of-the-roaders:
Unfortunately, his homeland has always lacked a responsible Center.


the position played by this lineman.


a player who participates in a center jump.

Ice Hockey. a player who participates in a face-off at the beginning of play.
Baseball. center field.
Physiology. a cluster of nerve cells governing a specific organic process:
the vasomotor center.

the mean position of a figure or system.



to place in or on a center:
She centered the clock on the mantelpiece.
to collect to or around a center; focus:
He centered his novel on the Civil War.
to determine or mark the center of:
A small brass star centered the tabletop.
Football. snap (def 21).
to be at or come to a center.
to come to a focus; converge; concentrate (followed by at, about, around, in, or on):
to gather or accumulate in a cluster; collect (followed by at, about, around, in, or on):
Shops and municipal buildings center around the city square.
The studs are set 30 inches on center.
Abbreviation: o.c.
Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

noun, verb
the US spelling of centre


the point, axis, or pivot about which a body rotates
a point, area, or part that is approximately in the middle of a larger area or volume
a place at which some specified activity is concentrated: a shopping centre
a person or thing that is a focus of interest
a place of activity or influence: a centre of power
a person, group, policy, or thing in the middle
(usually capital) (politics)

(as modifier): a Centre-Left alliance

(physiol) any part of the central nervous system that regulates a specific function: respiratory centre

a player who plays in the middle of the forward line
the act or an instance of passing the ball from a wing to the middle of the field, court, etc


the player in this position


the ring around the bull’s eye
a shot that hits this ring

to move towards, mark, put, or be at a centre
(transitive) to focus or bring together: to centre one’s thoughts
(intransitive) often foll by on. to have as a main point of view or theme: the novel centred on crime
(transitive) to adjust or locate (a workpiece or part) using a centre
(intransitive; foll by on or round) to have as a centre
(transitive) (sport) to pass (the ball) into the middle of the field or court
the Centre (ˈsɛntə). the sparsely inhabited central region of Australia
(French) (sɑ̃trə). a region of central France: generally low-lying; drained chiefly by the Rivers Loire, Loir, and Cher

chiefly British English spelling of center (q.v.); for ending, see -re.

late 14c., “middle point of a circle; point round which something revolves,” from Old French centre (14c.), from Latin centrum “center,” originally fixed point of the two points of a drafting compass, from Greek kentron “sharp point, goad, sting of a wasp,” from kentein “stitch,” from PIE root *kent- “to prick” (cf. Breton kentr “a spur,” Welsh cethr “nail,” Old High German hantag “sharp, pointed”).

Figuratively from 1680s. Meaning “the middle of anything” attested from 1590s. Spelling with -re popularized in Britain by Johnson’s dictionary (following Bailey’s), though -er is older and was used by Shakespeare, Milton, and Pope. Center of gravity is recorded from 1650s. Center of attention is from 1868.

1590s, “to concentrate at a center,” from center (n.). Related: Centered; centering. Meaning “to rest as at a center” is from 1620s. Sports sense of “to hit toward the center” is from 1890. To be centered on is from 1713. In combinations, -centered is attested by 1958.

center cen·ter (sěn’tər)

A point or place in the body that is equally distant from its sides or outer boundaries; the middle.


Related Terms

dead center, front and center
In addition to the idiom beginning with center


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