"center" in the noun sense
1. center, centre, middle, heart, eye
an area that is approximately central within some larger region
"it is in the center of town"
"they ran forward into the heart of the struggle"
"they were in the eye of the storm"
2. center field, centerfield, center
the piece of ground in the outfield directly ahead of the catcher
"he hit the ball to deep center"
3. center, centre
a building dedicated to a particular activity
"they were raising money to build a new center for research"
4. center, centre, midpoint
a point equidistant from the ends of a line or the extremities of a figure
5. kernel, substance, core, center, centre, essence, gist, heart, heart and soul, inwardness, marrow, meat, nub, pith, sum, nitty-gritty
the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience
"the gist of the prosecutor's argument"
"the heart and soul of the Republican Party"
"the nub of the story"
6. center, centre, center of attention, centre of attention
the object upon which interest and attention focuses
"his stories made him the center of the party"
7. center, centre, nerve center, nerve centre
a cluster of nerve cells governing a specific bodily process
"in most people the speech center is in the left hemisphere"
8. center
the middle of a military or naval formation
"they had to reinforce the center"
9. center
basketball) the person who plays center on a basketball team
10. center, snapper
football) the person who plays center on the line of scrimmage and snaps the ball to the quarterback
"the center fumbled the handoff"
11. center, centre
a place where some particular activity is concentrated
"they received messages from several centers"
12. center
politically moderate persons centrists
13. center
ice hockey) the person who plays center on a hockey team
14. center, centre
the sweet central portion of a piece of candy that is enclosed in chocolate or some other covering
15. plaza, mall, center, shopping mall, shopping center, shopping centre
mercantile establishment consisting of a carefully landscaped complex of shops representing leading merchandisers usually includes restaurants and a convenient parking area a modern version of the traditional marketplace
"a good plaza should have a movie house"
"they spent their weekends at the local malls"
16. center
the position on a hockey team of the player who participates in the face off at the beginning of the game
17. center
American football) the position of the player on the line of scrimmage who puts the ball in play
"it is a center's responsibility to get the football to the quarterback"
18. center
a position on a basketball team of the player who participates in the jump that starts the game
"center" in the verb sense
1. focus on, center on, revolve around, revolve about, concentrate on, center
center upon
"Her entire attention centered on her children"
"Our day revolved around our work"
2. concentrate, focus, center, centre, pore, rivet
direct one's attention on something
"Please focus on your studies and not on your hobbies"
3. center, centre
move into the center
"That vase in the picture is not centered"
"center" in the adjective sense
1. center, halfway, middle, midway
equally distant from the extremes
2. center
of or belonging to neither the right nor the left politically or intellectually
Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)
Princeton University "About WordNet®."
WordNet®. Princeton University. 2010.
View WordNet® License