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
plural
centrals,plural
centralesnoun
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
- centrally adverb
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
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.
This weakening warms the usually cooler central and eastern sides of the ocean, altering rainfall over the equatorial Pacific and wind patterns around the world.
From Barron's
Economists expect the central government to aim for 4.5%-5% gross domestic product growth in 2026, a more flexible, pragmatic goal than the “around 5%” target it has had over the past three years.
Suleimani, an Arabic speaker, was a central figure in the formation of Iran’s proxy constellation.
From Los Angeles Times
Within hours, Iranian mourners dressed in black took to the streets in Tehran's central Enghelab Square.
From Barron's
We stay for five or more nights, mostly in historic central cities, allowing us to explore on foot.
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.
