central

¹

[ sen-truhl ]

adjective

1. of or forming the center:

   the central hut in the village.

2. in, at, or near the center:

   a central position.

3. constituting something from which other related things proceed or upon which they depend:

   a central office.

4. principal; chief; dominant:

   the play's central character.

   Synonyms: primary, leading, key, main, major

5. Anatomy, Zoology.
   1. of or relating to the central nervous system.
   2. of or relating to the centrum of a vertebra.
6. 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.
7. Physics. (of a force) directed to or from a fixed point.

noun

1. (formerly)
   1. a main telephone exchange.
   2. a telephone operator at such an exchange.

central

²

[ sen-trahl; Spanish sen-trahl ]

noun

, plural cen·trals, Spanish cen·tra·les [sen-, trah, -les].

1. (in Spanish America and the Philippines) a mill for crushing cane into raw sugar.

Central

³

[ sen-truhl ]

noun

1. a region in central Scotland. 1,016 sq. mi. (2,631 sq. km).

central

/ ˈsɛntrəl /

adjective

1. in, at, of, from, containing, or forming the centre of something

   the central material of a golf ball

   the central street in a city

2. main, principal, or chief; most important

   the central cause of a problem

3. 1. of or relating to the central nervous system
   2. of or relating to the centrum of a vertebra
4. 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
5. (of a force) directed from or towards a point
6. informal.
   immediately postpositive used to describe a place where a specified thing, quality, etc is to be found in abundance

   nostalgia central

Derived Forms

• ˈcentrally, adverb

Other Words From

• central·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

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

It also said "some departments appeared to lack central tracking systems" for appointments, and identified two "technical" breaches of the recruitment principles relating to record keeping issues.

From BBC

Chu struggles to give the burgeoning friendship between Elphaba and Glinda the same thrust as he does the film’s central plot, which has a more momentous push in the movie’s second half.

From Salon

At least 36 people have been killed and 50 others injured in Israeli air strikes on residential buildings and an industrial area in the central Syrian town of Palmyra, Syrian state media report.

From BBC

For example, in a field of cells, the scientists could create a pattern of green fluorescent rings emanating from a central point.

From Science Daily

Less than 30% of buildings in New York City, Amsterdam, Buenos Aires, Denver, central Sydney and central Melbourne were in neighbourhoods with adequate canopy cover.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• basic
• essential
• fundamental
• important
• key
• paramount
• pivotal
• significant