central

UK: /ˈsɛntrəl/

US: /ˈsɛntrəl/

US: (adj. sen′trəl; n. sen träl′; Sp. sen träl′)

Inflections of 'central' (n): npl: centrals

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

cen•tral¹ /ˈsɛntrəl/   adj. 

1. [usually: before a noun] of, in, at, or near the center:
   Our home is in a central region of town.
2. [before a noun] being or making up something from which all other related things proceed:
   He reported to the central administration.
3. most important;
   principal;
   main;
   chief: [before a noun]:
   He had a central position in the department.
   [ be + ~ + to + obj]:
   Einstein's discoveries were central to modern physics for decades.

cen•tral•ly, adv.: The apartment is centrally located. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

cen•tral¹  (sen′trəl), adj. 

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.
5. Zoology [Anat., Zool.]
   • Anatomy of or pertaining to the central nervous system.
   • Anatomy of or pertaining 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.

n. 

8. Telecommunications (formerly)
   • a main telephone exchange.
   • a telephone operator at such an exchange.

• Latin centrālis, equivalent. to centr(um) center + -ālis -al¹
• 1640–50

cen′tral•ly, adv. 
Synonyms

• 4. major, main, key, leading, primary.

cen•tral²  (sen träl′; Sp. sen träl′), n., pl. -trals, Sp. -tra•les 

(-trä′les). 
1. Foreign Terms (in Spanish America and the Philippines) a mill for crushing cane into raw sugar.

• American Spanish, special use of Spanish central central¹

Cen•tral  (sen′trəl), n. 

1. Place Names a region in central Scotland. 269,281. 1016 sq. mi. (2631 sq. km).

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

central / ˈsɛntrəl/ adjective

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

ˈcentrally adverb