1
: containing or constituting a center
3
a
: situated at, in, or near the center
the central part of the state
b
: easily accessible from outlying districts
a central location for the new theater
4
a
: centrally placed and superseding separate scattered units
central heating
b
: controlling or directing local or branch activities
the central committee
5
: holding to a middle between extremes : moderate
6
: of, relating to, or comprising the brain and spinal cord
also
: originating within the central nervous system
central deafness
1
: a telephone exchange or operator
2
: a central office or bureau usually controlling others
weather central
3
: a center or hub for a specified activity or group
her house is party central
the family room becomes kid central
Examples of central in a Sentence
Adjective
The house has four rooms and a central chimney.
City planners are looking for a central location for the new hospital.
The evidence was central to the defense's case.
The country's schools are financed by both local and central governments.
The central authority of the company's board is being challenged.
Noun
Our family room becomes kid central on weekends.
a health club that has become dating central for singles in the area
Recent Examples on the Web
Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 4 May 2025
The long stretch of disruptive severe weather and flash flooding across portions of the central and eastern United States will be shifting east Saturday.
—Nadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 3 May 2025
Katherine McLaughlin, Architectural Digest, 8 May 2025
The immediate onset of conflict over Kashmir in 1947-48 with a militarily and politically stronger India made the military central to the state's survival and placed it above civilian scrutiny.
—Aqil Shah, Foreign Affairs, 15 Apr. 2011
See All Example Sentences for central
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Adjective
This led to the extinction of the Caspian tiger — a once dominant predator on the forested steppes of western and central Asia.
—Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 4 May 2025
The long stretch of disruptive severe weather and flash flooding across portions of the central and eastern United States will be shifting east Saturday.
—Nadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 3 May 2025
Noun
The residence is integrated into its landscape, with a horizontal central from which two wings of the house emerge—one side for bedrooms and bathrooms and the other for entertaining with the living room and dining room.
—Katherine McLaughlin, Architectural Digest, 8 May 2025
The immediate onset of conflict over Kashmir in 1947-48 with a militarily and politically stronger India made the military central to the state's survival and placed it above civilian scrutiny.
—Aqil Shah, Foreign Affairs, 15 Apr. 2011
See All Example Sentences for central
Cite this Entry
“Central.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/central. Accessed 11 May. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
central
adjective
cen·tral
ˈsen-trəl 
1
: of or concerning the centrum of a vertebra
2
a
: of, relating to, or comprising the brain and spinal cord
b
: originating within the central nervous system : caused by factors originating in the central nervous system
central precocious puberty
3
: affecting or involving the trunk of the body and especially the abdomen
central adiposity
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