DictionaryAI

central

adjective
SEN-truhl/ˈsɛntɹəl/

6 meanings of central

Practice

  1. 1
    middleadjective
    In, at, or forming the center of a place or thing.

    The museum stands in a central position overlooking the old harbor.

    Delegates gathered in the building's central courtyard before the session.

    UsageOften before a city or area: central London, central Tokyo, meaning its middle part.

    Oppositeperipheral

    Note

    It stands before a noun (a central stem) or after one, as when Wordsworth sets Palmyra "central in the Desert."

  2. 2
    keyadjective
    Of the highest importance, or forming the key part on which something depends.

    Fairness is central to the way the committee makes its decisions.

    This argument is central to the author's entire theory.

    UsageUsually central to something: central to the plan. Unlike main, it also works after a verb: the idea is central.

    Similarmain, key, principal, dominant

    Oppositemarginal, minor, secondary

    Note

    Position turns into importance here: a central figure is the one the action turns on, the way Phil McNulty casts Cleverley in BBC Sport's report of Moldova 0-5 England.

  3. 3
    head officeadjective
    Relating to or forming the main governing or controlling body of a country, organization, or system.

    Under the new plan, hiring will be handled by central management rather than by individual branches.

    The country's central bank sets interest rates for the whole economy.

    UsageUsually before a noun: central government, central planning, the central bank, and rarely with more or most.

    Similarcentralized, national

    Oppositelocal, regional, decentralized

    Note

    Its natural opposite is local. Central names the body at the middle, while centralized describes a system that has drawn power toward that body, so a country can have a central government without being highly centralized.

Less common meanings

  1. 4
    adjective
    In medicine, relating to, arising in, or acting on the brain and spinal cord (the central nervous system).
  2. 5
    adjective
    In an algebraic structure, describing an element that commutes with every other element under multiplication.
  3. 6
    adjective
    In abstract algebra, describing a unital algebra over a field whose center consists of nothing but the image of that base field.

Practice

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Origin

Borrowed from Latin centrālis, from centrum ('center'), which came from Ancient Greek kéntron; it can also be seen as centre plus the suffix -al.

Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 4 facts