nerve center

noun

1
2
: a source of leadership, organization, control, or energy
the financial nerve center of the nation

Examples of nerve center in a Sentence

the economic nerve center of a nation Wall Street's undisputed status as the nerve center for the world of high finance.
Recent Examples on the Web Caltrans outpost affected by storm The storm’s severe winds also knocked out power at Caltrans’ fortified nerve center just west of Donner Pass. Daniel Hunt, Sacramento Bee, 2 Mar. 2024 Here, home to low-income elderly people, in one of Miami’s pockets of el exilio, is the nerve center. Linda Robertson, Miami Herald, 20 Dec. 2023 The view from California —Several tech leaders argue San Francisco and the Bay Area more broadly remain a thriving nerve center of talent, institutional knowledge and bountiful venture capital, Times writer Hannah Wiley reported. Erin B. Logan, Los Angeles Times, 17 Jan. 2024 The Virginia facility is the nerve center for the nation’s air traffic controllers, whose work will intensify as holiday air traffic peaks Wednesday, the busiest day for flights during what’s expected to be the third-busiest Thanksgiving travel period ever, according to AAA. Lori Aratani, Washington Post, 21 Nov. 2023 But most of them have some kind of centralized nerve center. Rachel Feltman, Popular Science, 22 Nov. 2023 For the past year, Brand’s recording studio in the Oxfordshire countryside has been blessed as an emerging nerve center of the American right, or at least the anti-anti-right, with a procession of presidential candidates beaming in. Matt Flegenheimer, New York Times, 13 Nov. 2023 The Northwest Arctic Borough Assembly chambers, adorned with antlers and a scrimshaw walrus tusk, served as the nerve center for the search with Clement Sr. acting as spokesperson. Kyle Hopkins, ProPublica, 11 Nov. 2023 Expansion continued in 2011, when the county received $6 million in federal funds, along with a county match of $2 million, to build the fiber backbone — the nerve center of a very high-speed network. Sherry Greenfield, Baltimore Sun, 8 Sep. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'nerve center.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1868, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of nerve center was in 1868

Dictionary Entries Near nerve center

Cite this Entry

“Nerve center.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nerve%20center. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

nerve center

noun

Medical Definition

nerve center

noun
: center
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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