SINCE 1828

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centerfold

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noun cen·ter·fold \ ˈsen-tər-ˌfōld , ˈse-nər- \

Definition of centerfold

1 :a foldout that is the center spread of a magazine

2 :a picture (as of a nude) on a centerfold; also :a model featured in such a picture

See centerfold defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of centerfold from the Web

There was a centerfold in Sports Illustrated for Kids, features in the Smithsonian People’s Magazine and the (now-defunct) National Sports Daily.

— matthew vantryon, The Courier-Journal, "Dog days of summer: Meet the bat-retrieving, Gatorade-delivering canine," 11 July 2017
Founded in 1974, High Times is a counterculture survivor, with growing tips, music reviews and centerfolds of glittering green buds to decorate the walls of college dorms.

— lisa m. krieger, The Mercury News, "High Times magazine moves west to California," 21 Feb. 2017
Started in 1974 by Tom Forcade, an underground journalist, drug smuggler and Yippie, the magazine was originally conceived as a parody of Playboy, but with lurid centerfolds of cannabis buds the size of bonsai trees instead of nude women.

— alex williams, New York Times, "High Times Wants to Be the Playboy of Pot," 2 Apr. 2016
At least one involves the late computer scientist David Huffman, who discovered bottom-up compression; another features Lena Söderberg, whose 1972 Playboy centerfold became the standard test image for compression algorithms.

— steven leckart, WIRED, "Mike Judge Skewers Silicon Valley With the Satire of Our Dreams," 2 Apr. 2014

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'centerfold.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of centerfold

1941

CENTERFOLD Defined for English Language Learners

centerfold

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noun

Definition of centerfold for English Language Learners

: the pages that face each other in the middle of a magazine or newspaper
: a picture of a person (such as a woman who is not wearing clothes) that is in the centerfold of a magazine
: a person whose picture is the centerfold of a magazine

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