central

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cen·tral

(sĕn′trəl)

adj.

1. Situated at, in, or near the center: the central states.

2. Forming the center.

3. Having dominant or controlling power or influence: the company's central office.

4. Of basic importance; essential or principal: "Performance, including technological invention and artistic creation, will become central to education at all levels" (Frederick Turner).

5. Easily reached from various points: a central location for the new store.

6. Of or constituting a single source controlling all components of a system: central air conditioning.

7. Anatomy

a. Of, relating to, or originating from the nervous system.

b. Relating to a centrum.

8. Linguistics Articulated in the middle of the oral cavity; neither front nor back. Used of vowels, as the u in cut.

9. Holding to a moderate ideological position between two extremes.

a. A telephone exchange.

b. An operator at a telephone exchange.

a. A location or agency for the control or coordination of a group of related activities: air command central.

b. Informal A location or area of intense activity: Their apartment was party central on weekends.

[Latin centrālis, from centrum, center; see center.]

cen′tral·ly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

central

(ˈsɛntrəl)

adj

1. in, at, of, from, containing, or forming the centre of something: the central street in a city; the central material of a golf ball.

2. main, principal, or chief; most important: the central cause of a problem.

3. (Anatomy)

a. of or relating to the central nervous system

b. of or relating to the centrum of a vertebra

4. (Phonetics & Phonology) 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. (General Physics) (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.

ˈcentrally adv

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

cen•tral

(ˈsɛn trəl)

adj.

1. of or forming the center.

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.

5. of or pertaining to the central nervous system.

6. (of a vowel) articulated with the tongue approximately midway between the front and back of the mouth, as the vowel (u) of shut.

7. (formerly)

a. a main telephone exchange.

b. a telephone operator at such an exchange.

[1640–50; < Latin centrālis=centr(um) center + -ālis -al¹]

cen′tral•ly, adv.

Cen•tral

(ˈsɛn trəl)

n.

a region in central Scotland. 273,400. 1016 sq. mi. (2631 sq. km).

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	central - a workplace that serves as a telecommunications facility where lines from telephones can be connected together to permit communication telephone exchange, exchange centrex - (CENTRal EXchange) a kind of telephone exchange patchboard, plugboard, switchboard - telephone central where circuits are completed with patchcords phone system, telephone system - a communication system that transmits sound between distant points workplace, work - a place where work is done; "he arrived at work early today"
Adj.	1.	central - serving as an essential component; "a cardinal rule"; "the central cause of the problem"; "an example that was fundamental to the argument"; "computers are fundamental to modern industrial structure" cardinal, fundamental, key, primal important, of import - of great significance or value; "important people"; "the important questions of the day"
	2.	central - in or near a center or constituting a center; the inner area; "a central position" peripheral - on or near an edge or constituting an outer boundary; the outer area; "Russia's peripheral provinces"; "peripheral suburbs"

central

adjective

1. inner, middle, mid, interior She had a house in central London.
inner outer, exterior, outermost

2. main, chief, key, essential, primary, principal, fundamental, focal The Poll Tax was a central part of Mrs Thatcher's reform of local government.
main minor, secondary, subsidiary, subordinate

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

central

adjective

1. At, in, near, or being the center:

center, medial, median, mid, middle.

2. Not extreme:

intermediate, mean, medial, median, mid, middle, middle-of-the-road, midway.

3. Dominant in importance or influence:

key, pivotal.

Translations

مَرْكَزي، رَئيسيمَرْكَزي، في المركزمَرْكَزيّ

central

nejdůležitějšístředníústředníve středu města

centralhoved-

zentral mittig

κεντρικός

central céntrico principal

keskeinen

central

centralan

központi

megin-, aîal-miîlægur, miîsvæîis

centrale

中央の

중심의

centralizacijacentralizavimascentralizuoticentre esantiscentrinis

centra-centrālsgalvenais

centraal

sentral sentral-midt-

centralny

central

центральный

ústredný

osrednjisrediščen

central

ที่เป็นศูนย์กลาง

ana merkezi merkezî

ở trung tâm

中心的主要的

central

[ˈsentrəl]

A. ADJ

1. (= in the middle) → central
the houses are arranged around a central courtyard → las casas están distribuidas alrededor de un patio central

2. (= near the centre of town) [house, office, location] → céntrico
I'm looking for somewhere more central → busco algo más céntrico
his flat is very central → su piso está muy céntrico
it's in central Paris → está en el centro de París

3. (= principal) [figure, problem, idea, fact] → central, fundamental; [role] → fundamental; [aim] → principal
of central importance → de la mayor importancia, primordial
the issue of Aids is central to the plot of the film → el tema del SIDA es fundamental en el argumento de la película
it is central to our policy → es un punto clave de nuestra política

4. (Admin, Pol) [committee, planning, control etc] → central

B. N (US) (= exchange) → central f telefónica

C. CPD Central African Republic N → República f Centroafricana
Central America N → Centroamérica f, América f Central
Central Asia N → Asia f Central
central bank N → banco m central
central casting N (Cine) → departamento m de reparto or casting
a Texan farmer straight from or out of central casting (fig hum) → un granjero tejano de pura cepa or con toda la barba
Central Daylight Time N (US) → horario m de verano de la zona central (de Estados Unidos)
Central Europe N → Europa f Central
central government N → gobierno m central
central heating N → calefacción f central
central locking N (Aut) → cierre m centralizado
central nervous system N → sistema m nervioso central
central processing unit N (Comput) → unidad f central de proceso
central reservation N (Brit) (Aut) → mediana f
Central Standard Time N (US) → horario m de la zona central (de Estados Unidos)
see also Central American, Central Asian, Central European

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

central

[ˈsɛntrəl] adj

(= in the middle) → central(e)

(= convenient) [place] → bien situé(e)

[group, organization] → central(e)

(= leading) → principal(e)

(= important) to be central to sth → être au centre de qchCentral African adj → centrafricain

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

central

adj

→ zentral, Zentral-; (= main, chief) → Haupt-; the central area of the city → das Innenstadtgebiet; central London → das Zentrum von London; our house is very central → unser Haus liegt sehr zentral

(fig) → wesentlich; importance, figure, issue → zentral; role → wesentlich, zentral; to be central to something → das Wesentliche an etw (dat) → sein; he plays a central role or part in … → er spielt eine zentrale or wesentliche Rolle bei …

n (US: = exchange, operator) → (Telefon)zentrale f, → Fernamt nt

central

Central African Republic

n → Zentralafrikanische Republik

Central America

n → Mittelamerika nt

Central American

adj → mittelamerikanisch

n → Mittelamerikaner(in) m(f);

Central Asian

adj → zentralasiatisch

central casting

n (esp US Film) → Castingagentur f; straight out of central (fig) → wie eine klassische Figur aus dem Film

Central Committee

n (Pol) → Zentralkomitee nt

Central Europe

n → Mitteleuropa nt

Central European

adj → mitteleuropäisch

n → Mitteleuropäer(in) m(f)

Central European Time

n → mitteleuropäische Zeit

central government

n → Zentralregierung f

central heating

n → Zentralheizung f

central

central nervous system

n → Zentralnervensystem nt

central processing unit

n (Comput) → Zentraleinheit f

central reservation

n → Mittelstreifen m, → Grünstreifen m

Central Standard Time

n → Central Standard Time f

central station

n → Hauptbahnhof m

central unit

n (Comput) → Zentraleinheit f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

central

[ˈsɛntr/əl] adj → centrale

central

(ˈsentrəl) adjective

1. belonging to or near the centre (eg of a town). His flat is very central.

2. principal or most important. the central point of his argument.

ˈcentralize, ˈcentralise verb

to bring under one control.

ˌcentraliˈzation, ˌcentraliˈsation noun

ˈcentrally adverb

centrally situated.

central heating

heating of a building by water, steam or air through pipes from one central boiler etc.

ˌcentral ˈprocessing ˌunit noun

see CPU.

central

→ مَرْكَزيّ střední central zentral κεντρικός central keskeinen central centralan centrale 中央の 중심의 centraal sentral centralny central центральный central ที่เป็นศูนย์กลาง merkezi ở trung tâm 中心的

central

a. central; céntrico-a;

___ nervous system → sistema nervioso ___.

central

adj central

References in classic literature ?

These masses became immediately endued with a rotary motion around their own central point.

View in context

William Holt, a wealthy manufacturer of Chicago, was living temporarily in a little town of central New York, the name of which the writer's memory has not retained.

View in context

It was the creation of a central company that should link all local companies together, and itself own and operate the means by which these companies are united.

View in context

SEEING that his audiences were becoming smaller every Sunday, a Minister of the Gospel broke off in the midst of a sermon, descended the pulpit stairs, and walked on his hands down the central aisle of the church.

View in context

But to do so was to discover a whole new world of architectural beauty, of exquisite ascendant lines, and long after the central congestion had been relieved by tunnels under the sea, four colossal bridges over the east river, and a dozen mono-rail cables east and west, the upward growth went on.

View in context

He therefore advanced toward the east, and reached the town of Zouricolo, in the Bornou country, which is the core of the great central empire of Africa.

View in context

Since that time, I have been wandering in Central Asia.

View in context

From this central block rose the twin towers, ancient, crenelated, and pierced with many loopholes.

View in context

This central mother church is, among the ancient churches of Paris, a sort of chimera; it has the head of one, the limbs of another, the haunches of another, something of all.

View in context

He wanted water more than any other thing, and so he kept on up a broad avenue toward the great central plaza, where he knew the precious fluid was to be found in a half-ruined building opposite the great palace of the ancient jeddak, who once had ruled this mighty city.

View in context

Central America is pretty wild, isn't it?" he asked, as if in fear of being disappointed!

View in context

He was the same old Launcelot, and when he glanced in as he was passing the door and found out that his pet was sick, that was enough for him; bulls and bears might fight it out their own way for all him, he would come right in here and stand by little Hello- Central for all he was worth.