central time

noun

variants often Central time

: the time of the sixth time zone west of Greenwich that includes the central U.S. see time zone illustration

Examples of central time in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

All times on the map are Central time. —William B. Davis, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2026

Central time, with a live broadcast on ESPN. —Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 27 Feb. 2026

Over the years, the show has expanded to other cities, heading to Chicago for the first time to ring in 2026 as the Central time zone locale, with native son Chance the Rapper performing and leading a large crowd through an exuberant countdown to midnight. —Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 1 Jan. 2026

Ryan Seacrest anchored ABC's live coverage with Rita Ora from Times Square in New York, while Chance the Rapper helmed the inaugural NYRE Central time zone countdown in Chicago, Rob Gronkowski and Julianne Hough cohosted from Las Vegas and Roselyn Sánchez beamed in from Puerto Rico. —Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 31 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1883, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for central time

• aforetime
• allozyme
• anytime
• christmastime
• cybercrime
• dinnertime
• guggenheim
• isozyme
• lysozyme
• maritime
• mesenchyme
• overtime

Kids Definition

central time

noun

often capitalized C

: the time of the 6th time zone west of Greenwich that includes the central U.S.