Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

See What's Trending Now See More Trending Words

nerve center

noun

Definition of nerve center

  1. 1 :  center 2c

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

See nerve center defined for English-language learners

See nerve center defined for kids

People Are Reading

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066
time-traveler-quiz-which-word-came-first
Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?
watercolor-squares
We're Down With You Being—or Your Being?—a Square
alt-59973139034d4
Trending: 'Svengali' Bannon leaving White House

Examples of nerve center in a Sentence

  1. the economic nerve center of a nation

  2. Wall Street's undisputed status as the nerve center for the world of high finance.

First Known Use of nerve center

1868

nerve center Synonyms

Synonyms
axis, base, capital, central, core, cynosure, epicenter, eye, focus, ground zero, heart, hub, locus, mecca, navel, center, nexus, nucleus, omphalos, seat
Related 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

NERVE CENTER Defined for English Language Learners

nerve center

noun

Definition of nerve center for English Language Learners

  • : a place from which the activities of an organization, system, etc., are controlled

Medical Dictionary

nerve center

noun

Medical Definition of nerve center

  1. :  center

Learn More about nerve center

  1. See words that rhyme with nerve center Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for nerve center

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up nerve center? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

depredate

play

to plunder or ravage

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. Svengali 'A person who manipulates'

  2. syzygy An obscure astronomy term goes mainstream

  3. hegemon "Something having dominant influence over others"

  4. repugnant Trump clarifies his position on racism

  5. white nationalist, white supremacist Trending in 2017

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

nerve center

Test Your Vocabulary

Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

  • time-traveler-quiz-which-word-came-first
  • Which came first?
True or False

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ
Syn City

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

watercolor-squares
We're Down With You Being—or Your Being?—a Square

It's about (you? your?) having your say.

image1489982902
Devilish Words

Don't blame a word use error on the devil.

alt-599492594f435
How 'Wonderful' Lost Its Sense of Wonder

A case of semantic bleaching

dog-covering-face
Don't Let Reading This Be Another 'Coulda' 'Shoulda' 'Woulda'

PSA: They're three separate words.

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

time-traveler-quiz-which-word-came-first
Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

Which word entered the English language first?

Take the quiz
name-more-food
Name More Food!

Test your knowledge of food vocabulary!

Take the quiz
True or False
True or False?

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

Take the quiz
Syn City
Syn City

Build a city of skyscrapers—one synonym at a time.

Play the game
Examples: nerve center in a Sentence