nerve center

noun

1. a group of nerve cells closely connected with one another and acting together in the performance of some function.
2. a source of information, authority, action, etc.:

   The communications room is the nerve center of a battleship.

Word History and Origins

Origin of nerve center¹

First recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

Getting to the hospital’s nerve center these days involves navigating past 15-foot concrete barricades and multiple blast doors, then descending several floors into a labyrinthine subterranean complex.

From New York Times

Its Capitol Hill headquarters serve as something of a counterweight to the Conservative Partnership Institute, which operates nearby as the nerve center of the right.

From New York Times

The underground bunker, built to replace the destroyed command center in the months after Russia’s invasion, is a secret nerve center of Ukraine’s military.

From New York Times

One panel report described the agency as a censorship “nerve center.”

From Seattle Times

Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith said the center will become “the nerve center” of law enforcement in the region.

From Washington Times

Related Words

• command post
• focal point
• headquarters
• hotbed