Centre Extra Examples Place Soft Middle Point Lot

• he walked to the centre of the circle.
• there was a long table in the centre of the room.
• the statue is in the very centre of the temple.
• the brownie should be firm on the outside but soft in the centre.

centre

1. the middle point or part of something
• He walked to the centre of the circle.
• There was a long table in the centre of the room.
• The statue is in the very centre of the temple.
• The brownie should be firm on the outside but soft in the centre.
• Aristotle believed that the Earth was at the centre of the universe.
• The executive at the centre of the bribery scandal was convicted last week.
• chocolates with soft centres
2. the main part of a town or city where there are a lot of shops and offices
• SEE ALSO town centre
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/town-centre
• We both work in the city centre.
• I got a lift into the centre of town.
• a town-centre car park

Extra Examples

• We've bought a flat in the very centre of Cambridge.
• We've bought an apartment in the very centre of São Paulo.
• a museum in the centre of Birmingham
3. a place or an area where a lot of people live; a place where a lot of business or cultural activity takes place
• major urban/industrial centres
• At that time Winchester was still a major centre of population.
• The university is a leading centre for scientific research.
• Small towns in South India serve as economic and cultural centres for the surrounding villages.

Extra Examples

• Tokyo is one of the main financial centres of the world.
• the economic nerve centre of Germany
4. a building or place used for a particular purpose or activity
• SEE ALSO control centre
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/control-centre
• a shopping/community/health/fitness centre
• The company has recently opened a new training centre.
• the Centre for Policy Studies

Extra Examples

• You can send fax or emails from our fully equipped business centre.
• They've set up a local centre for people with epilepsy.
• The classes are run by the Centre for Languages and Literature.
• I had to get a taxi from the hotel to the conference centre.
5. a place where a particular kind of work is done extremely well
• Darlington could become a regional centre of excellence for nursery nurse training.
• The university is recognized as an international centre of excellence for training dentists.
6. the point towards which people direct their attention
• Children like to be the centre of attention.
• The prime minister is at the centre of a political row over leaked Cabinet documents.

Extra Examples

• She always liked to feel that she was at the centre of things.
• He could never doubt that he was the centre of her world.
• The captain was at the centre of the action right through the game.
7. a moderate (= middle) political position or party, between the extremes of left-wing and right-wing parties
• a party of the centre
• Are her views to the left or right of centre?
• a centre party

Extra Examples

• Politically, she is considered to be slightly left of centre.
• a party that occupies the centre ground of British politics
8. a player or position in the middle of the pitch, court, etc.
9. in or into the most important position
• The issue has moved front and center in his presidential campaign.
10. in all directions; everywhere
• He's giving away money left, right and centre.

Word Origin

• late Middle English: from Old French, or from Latin centrum, from Greek kentron ‘sharp point, stationary point of a pair of compasses’, related to kentein ‘to prick’.