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centered

 - 7 dictionary results
Center'd
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cen⋅tered

  [sen-terd]
Use centered in a Sentence
–adjective
1. having a central axis: a centered arc.
2. equidistant from all bordering or adjacent areas; situated in the center: The illustration was centered on the page.
3. Printing. set above the base line at approximately the level of the hyphen: a centered dot between syllables.
Origin:
1580–90; center + -ed 3
Center'd
Local planning with a little help from your friends.
www.centerd.com

cen⋅ter

  [sen-ter]
–noun
1. Geometry. the middle point, as the point within a circle or sphere equally distant from all points of the circumference or surface, or the point within a regular polygon equally distant from the vertices.
2. a point, pivot, axis, etc., around which anything rotates or revolves: The sun is the center of the solar system.
3. the source of an influence, action, force, etc.: the center of a problem.
4. a point, place, person, etc., upon which interest, emotion, etc., focuses: His family is the center of his life.
5. a principal point, place, or object: a shipping center.
6. a building or part of a building used as a meeting place for a particular group or having facilities for certain activities: a youth center; The company has a complete recreation center in the basement.
7. an office or other facility providing a specific service or dealing with a particular emergency: a flood-relief center; a crisis center.
8. a person, thing, group, etc., occupying the middle position, esp. a body of troops.
9. the core or middle of anything: chocolate candies with fruit centers.
10. a store or establishment devoted to a particular subject or hobby, carrying supplies, materials, tools, and books as well as offering guidance and advice: a garden center; a nutrition center.
11. shopping center.
12. (usually initial capital letter) Government.
a. the part of a legislative assembly, esp. in continental Europe, that sits in the center of the chamber, a position customarily assigned to members of the legislature who hold political views intermediate between those of the Right and Left.
b. the members of such an assembly who sit in the Center.
c. the political position of persons who hold moderate views.
d. politically moderate persons, taken collectively; Centrists; middle-of-the-roaders: Unfortunately, his homeland has always lacked a responsible Center.
13. Football.
a. a lineman who occupies a position in the middle of the line and who puts the ball into play by tossing it between his legs to a back.
b. the position played by this lineman.
14. Basketball.
a. a player who participates in a center jump.
b. the position of the player in the center of the court, where the center jump takes place at the beginning of play.
15. Ice Hockey. a player who participates in a face-off at the beginning of play.
16. Baseball. center field.
17. Physiology. a cluster of nerve cells governing a specific organic process: the vasomotor center.
18. Mathematics.
a. the mean position of a figure or system.
b. the set of elements of a group that commute with every element of the group.
19. Machinery.
a. a tapered rod, mounted in the headstock spindle (live center) or the tailstock spindle (dead center) of a lathe, upon which the work to be turned is placed.
b. one of two similar points on some other machine, as a planing machine, enabling an object to be turned on its axis.
c. a tapered indentation, in a piece to be turned on a lathe, into which a center is fitted.
–verb (used with object)
20. to place in or on a center: She centered the clock on the mantelpiece.
21. to collect to or around a center; focus: He centered his novel on the Civil War.
22. to determine or mark the center of: A small brass star centered the tabletop.
23. to adjust, shape, or modify (an object, part, etc.) so that its axis or the like is in a central or normal position: to center the lens of a telescope; to center the work on a lathe.
24. to place (an object, part, etc.) so as to be equidistant from all bordering or adjacent areas.
25. Football. snap (def. 20).
26. to pass (a basketball, hockey puck, etc.) from any place along the periphery toward the middle of the playing area.
–verb (used without object)
27. to be at or come to a center.
28. to come to a focus; converge; concentrate (fol. by at, about, around, in, or on): The interest of the book centers specifically on the character of the eccentric hero. Political power in the town centers in the position of mayor.
29. to gather or accumulate in a cluster; collect (fol. by at, about, around, in, or on): Shops and municipal buildings center around the city square.
—Idiom
30. on center, from the centerline or midpoint of a structural member, an area of a plan, etc., to that of a similar member, area, etc.: The studs are set 30 inches on center. Abbreviation: o.c.
Also, especially British, centre.

Origin:
1325–75; var. of ME centre < L centrum < Gk kéntron needle, spur, pivoting point in drawing a circle, deriv. of kenteîn to sting

Related forms:
cen⋅ter⋅a⋅ble, adjective
cen⋅ter⋅less, adjective

Synonyms:
1. See middle.

Antonyms:
1. edge.

Usage note:
28. Although sometimes condemned for alleged illogicality, the phrases center about and center around have appeared in edited writing for more than a century to express the sense of gathering or collecting as if around a center: The objections center around the question of fiscal responsibility.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To centered
cen·ter   (sěn'tər)   
n.  

  1. A point or place that is equally distant from the sides or outer boundaries of something; the middle: the center of a stage.

    1. A point equidistant from the vertices of a regular polygon.

    2. A point equidistant from all points on the circumference of a circle or on the surface of a sphere.

    3. A place where a particular activity or service is concentrated: a medical center.

    4. A point of origin, as of influence, ideas, or actions: a center of power; a center of unrest.

    5. An area of dense population: a metropolitan center.

    6. A small conical hole made in a piece of work with a center punch so that a drill can be accurately positioned within it.

    7. A bar with a conical point used to support work, as during turning on a lathe.

  3. A point around which something rotates or revolves: The sun is the center of our solar system.

  4. A part of an object that is surrounded by the rest; a core: chocolates with soft centers.

    1. A place where a particular activity or service is concentrated: a medical center.

    2. A point of origin, as of influence, ideas, or actions: a center of power; a center of unrest.

    3. An area of dense population: a metropolitan center.

    4. A small conical hole made in a piece of work with a center punch so that a drill can be accurately positioned within it.

    5. A bar with a conical point used to support work, as during turning on a lathe.

  6. A person or thing that is the chief object of attention, interest, activity, or emotion.

  7. A person, object, or group occupying a middle position.

  8. often Center A political group or a set of policies representing a moderate view between those of the right and the left.

  9. Physiology A group of neurons in the central nervous system that control a particular function: the vasomotor center.

  10. Sports A player who holds a middle position on the field, court, or forward line in some team sports, such as football and basketball.

  11. Baseball Center field.

    1. A small conical hole made in a piece of work with a center punch so that a drill can be accurately positioned within it.

    2. A bar with a conical point used to support work, as during turning on a lathe.

  13. Architecture A centering.

v.   cen·tered, cen·ter·ing, cen·ters

v.   tr.

  1. To place in or at the center: centered the vase on the table.

  2. To direct toward a center or central point; concentrate or focus: tried to center the discussion on the main issues.

  3. Sports

    1. To pass (a ball or puck) toward the center of a playing area.

    2. To play as a center on (a line), as in ice hockey.

  4. Football To pass (the ball) back between the legs to begin a down.

v.   intr.

  1. To be concentrated; cluster: The epidemic centered in the urban areas.

  2. To have a central theme or concern; be focused: Her novels center on the problems of adolescence.

  3. Sports To play as a center.


[Middle English centre, from Old French, from Latin centrum, from Greek kentron, center of a circle, from kentein, to prick; see kent- in Indo-European roots.]
Synonyms: These nouns refer to a region, person, or thing around which some activity is concentrated: a great cultural center; the focus of research efforts; the headquarters of a multinational corporation; a town that is the heart of the colony; the hub of a steel empire; the seat of government.
Usage Note: Traditionally, the verb center may be freely used with the prepositions on, upon, in, or at; but some language critics have denounced its use with around as illogical or physically impossible. But the fact that writers persist in using this phrase in sentences such as The discussion centered around the need for curriculum reform, a sentence that 71 percent of the Usage Panel accepts, suggests that many people perceive center around to best represent the true nature of what they are trying to say. Indeed, in an example like A storm of controversy centered around the king, the only appropriate choice seems to be around. Still, if one wishes to avoid the phrase center around, the phrase revolve around is available as an option. Since center can represent various relations involving having, finding, or turning about a center, the choice of a preposition depends on what is intended. There is ample evidence for usages with each preposition listed above. The Panel accepts all of these uses except the one with at. Seventy-seven percent reject the sentence The company has been centered at Atlanta for the last five years. See Usage Note at equal.
cen·tered   (sěn'tərd)   
adj.  

  1. Being at or placed in the center.

  2. Having a specified center. Often used in combination: a soft-centered candy; a yellow-centered daisy.

  3. Self-confident, goal-oriented, and well-balanced: "He's a centered guy. He's always seemed to know what he wanted, and gone after it in a concrete way" (Vanity Fair).

cen'tered·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

center 
c.1374, from O.Fr. centre, from L. centrum "center," orig. fixed point of the two points of a compass, from Gk. kentron "sharp point, goad," from kentein "stitch," from PIE base *kent- "to prick" (cf. Breton kentr "a spur," O.H.G. hantag "sharp, pointed"). The verb is from 1622. Spelling with -re popularized in Britain by Johnson's dictionary, though -er is older. Centrist is 1872, from Fr. politics. Central as U.S. colloquial for "central telephone exchange" is first recorded 1889.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: cen·ter
Variant: or chiefly British cen·tre /'sent-&r/
Function: noun
: a group of nerve cells having acommon function center> called also nerve center
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

center cen·ter (sěn'tər)
n.

  1. A point or place in the body that is equally distant from its sides or outer boundaries; the middle.

  2. A group of neurons in the central nervous system that control a particular function.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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