English Explanatory Dictionary

center

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The point in the interior of a circle that is equidistant from all points on the circumference.
  2. The point in the interior of a sphere that is equidistant from all points on the circumference.
  3. The middle portion of something; the part well away from the edges.
  4. The innermost point of the Earth, or the Earth itself, as the center or foundation of the Universe; the center or foundation of the Universe abstractly.
  5. The point on a line that is midway between the ends.
  6. The point in the interior of any figure of any number of dimensions that has as its coordinates the arithmetic mean of the coordinates of all points on the perimeter of the figure (or of all points in the interior for a center of volume).
  7. A point on a triangle's plane that is in some sense in its middle.
  8. A place, especially a building or complex, set aside for some specified function or activity.
  9. The ensemble of moderate or centrist political parties.
  10. The venue in which the head of government in a centralized state is situated.
  11. A topic that is particularly important in a given context, the element in a subject of cognition, volition or discussion that is perceived as decisive.
  12. A player in the middle of a playing area.
adj
  1. Of, at, or related to a center.
verb
  1. To cause (an object) to occupy the center of an area.
  2. To cause (some attribute, such as a mood or voltage) to be adjusted to a value which is midway between the extremes.
  3. To give (something) a central basis.
  4. To concentrate on (something), to pay close attention to (something).
  5. To form a recess or indentation for the reception of a center.
name
  1. A surname.
  2. A number of places in the United States:
  3. A statutory town in Rio Grande County and Saguache County, Colorado.
  4. An unincorporated community in Jackson County, Georgia.
  5. An unincorporated community in Howard County, Indiana.
  6. An unincorporated community in Jay County, Indiana.
  7. An unincorporated community in Warrick County, Indiana.
  8. An unincorporated community in Metcalfe County, Kentucky.
  9. A small city and town in Missouri.
  10. A village, the county seat of Knox County, Nebraska.
  11. A small city, the county seat of Oliver County, North Dakota.
  12. A city, the county seat of Shelby County, Texas.

Pronunciation

/ˈsɛn.təː/ [ˈsɛn.tʰəː] /ˈsɛn.tɚ/ [ˈsɛ̟n.tʰɚ] ~ [ˈsɛ̟n.tʰɹ̩] /ˈsɛɾ̃.ɚ/ [ˈsɛ̟ɾ̃.ɚ] ~ [ˈsɛ̟ɾ̃.ɹ̩] en-US center (nasal flapping).ogg /ˈsɪn.tɚ/ [ˈsɪ̟n.tʰɚ] ~ [ˈsɪ̟n.tʰɹ̩] en-us-center.ogg /ˈsɪɾ̃.ɚ/ [ˈsɪ̟ɾ̃.ɚ] ~ [ˈsɪ̟ɾ̃.ɹ̩]

Word forms

center centers centre centering centered

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱent-der. Ancient Greek κέντρον (kéntron)der. Latin centrumder. Middle French centrebor. Middle English center English center From Middle English center, centre, from Middle French centre, from Latin centrum, from Ancient Greek κέντρον (kéntron), from κεντεῖν (kenteîn, “to prick, goad”). Doublet of centrum. * (group theory): In the notation Z(G), the letter Z derives from the German Zentrum (“center”).

Synonyms

centroid center of gravity center of mass middle midst midpoint central

Antonyms

periphery

Related words

central

Derived words

adjustment center alt-center anticenter apocenter aquatic center area control center bandcenter barycenter behind center bottom dead center Brookfield Center burn center call center Canton Center center-back center back centerbit center-board centerboard centercab center circle Center City center console centerfield center field center fielder centerfire centerfold center forward Center Game centerground Center Harbor centerish center island centerless centerline center line centerman center mark center of attention center of buoyancy center of curvature center of effort center of excellence center of gravity center of inertia center of lift center of mass center of pressure center of symmetry centerpiece centerpin centerpoint centerpunch center punch center-right center spot center spread centerspread center square

Translations

Afrikaans: sentrum Albanian: qendër Arabic: مَرْكَز Arabic: وَسَط Arabic: وَسْط Arabic: وسط Arabic: مركز Armenian: կենտրոն Azerbaijani: mərkəz Azerbaijani: orta Bashkir: үҙәк Bashkir: урта Basque: erdigune Belarusian: цэнтр Belarusian: цэ́нтар Belarusian: сярэдзі́на Bengali: কেন্দ্র Bulgarian: це́нтър Bulgarian: сре́дище Bulgarian: среда́ Burmese: ဗဟို Catalan: centre Chechen: йукъ Cherokee: ᎠᏰᏟ Cheyenne: sétóve Chinese Mandarin: 中心 Chinese Mandarin: 中央 Czech: střed Czech: centrum Danish: centrum Dutch: centrum Dutch: middelpunt Esperanto: centro Estonian: keskus Finnish: keskipiste Finnish: keskikohta Finnish: keskusta Finnish: keskialue French: centre French: centre de masse West-Frisian: sintrum Galician: centro Georgian: ცენტრი German: Zentrum German: Mitte German: Mittelpunkt Greek: κέντρο Gujarati: કેંદ્ર Hebrew: מֶרְכָּז Hebrew: מרכז כובד Hindi: केंद्र Hindi: वस्त Hindi: मरकज़ Hindi: मरकज Hungarian: középpont Hungarian: központ Icelandic: miðja Indonesian: pusat Indonesian: tengah Irish: ionad Italian: centro Japanese: 中心 Japanese: 円心 Japanese: 中央 Japanese: 真ん中 Japanese: 真中 Japanese: 中子 Japanese: 球心 Japanese: 重心 Kazakh: орта Khmer: កណ្ដាល Khmer: ទ្រូង Korean: 중심 Korean: 중앙
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