live center

[ lahyv sen-ter ]

noun

, Machinery.

1. a tapered rod, mounted in the headstock spindle of a lathe, upon which the work to be turned is placed. Compare dead center ( def 3b ).

Word History and Origins

Origin of live center¹

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

Van is co-founder of the Will to Live Center, which provides training for disabled people in Vietnam's capital, Hanoi.

From BBC

Landmark Entertainment Group expects to open a "LIVE Center" full of VR attractions in China next year.

From The Verge

So he looks friendly, he looks like he’d be willing to talk to you, but really because of the way his gaze circles about you, gets at your outline instead of your live center, you think he’s really stepping back as he approaches, stepping back inside and back away from you so nothing can get around or behind him.

From Literature

Live center, which features apartments, ballrooms, bars, concert theaters, restaurants, movie theaters and a 54-story hotel and a condominium tower.

From Seattle Times

The center in the headstock is usually referred to as the “live center” because it turns around when the lathe is in use, and the center in the tailstock as the “dead center,” because it remains stationary.

From Project Gutenberg