axis

1 a thing or place that is of greatest importance to an activity or interest <in addition to being the suburb's social axis, the country club is the place where deals are made and partnerships are forged> Synonyms center, base, capital, central, core, cynosure, epicenter, eye, focus, ground zero, heart, hub, locus, mecca, navel, nerve center, nexus, nucleus, omphalos, seatRelated Words headquarters; happy hunting ground, hive, hotbed, hot spot, playground, playland; kernel, nub, pith; deep, thick; essence, quintessence, soul; attraction, lodestone (also loadstone), magnet, polestar

2 an association of persons, parties, or states for mutual assistance and protection <an axis of previously nonaligned nations> Synonyms alliance, confederacy, bloc, block, coalition, combination, combine, confederation, federation, league, unionRelated Words cabal, conspiracy, junto; cartel, syndicate, trust; faction, front, fusion, side, wing; association, group, organization; affiliation, cooperative, partnership; circuit, conference