centre

Other spellings

• (US) center

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA ^(key): /ˈsɛntə/, SAMPA: /"sEnt@/
• (US) IPA ^(key): /ˈsɛntɚ/, SAMPA: /"sEnt@`/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

Singular centre

Plural centres

a black dot in the centre of a square & circle

a conference centre

1. (countable) The centre of something, is the place that is as far from its outside as possible.

   The president and his problems continue to take centre stage in the news.

   She placed a flowers at the center of the table and then hurried off.

2. (countable) A centre is a building, area, or group of people with a particular purpose.

   They have opened a large shopping centre in Taipei.

   The team was staying at the US Olympic training centre.

   Recently, Bahrain has become a major international banking centre.

   Scientists at the Centre for Disease Control have found a new virus.

3. (countable) The town centre is the place in the town where most of the shops are.
4. (countable) In politics, the centre is the position that is not politically right or left.
5. (countable) In sports, a centre is a player who plays in the middle of the field, usually an attacker.

Synonyms

• middle
• institution

Related words

• center
• centerist / centrist
• centred / centered
• central
• centralism
• centrally
• centrality
• centralise / centralize
• centralised / centralized
• centralisation / centralization

Verb

Plain form centre

Third-person singular centres

Past tense centred

Past participle centred

Present participle centring

1. (transitive) If you centre something, you move it towards the centre.