Central vs. Center — What's the Difference?

At the point or in the area that is in the middle of something

A point or place that is equally distant from the sides or outer boundaries of something; the middle

Of the greatest importance; principal or essential

A point equidistant from the vertices of a regular polygon.

A place with a high concentration of a specified type of person or thing

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

Situated at, in, or near the center

A point around which something rotates or revolves

Forming the center.

A part of an object that is surrounded by the rest; a core

Having dominant or controlling power or influence

A place where a particular activity or service is concentrated

Of basic importance; essential or principal

A point of origin, as of influence, ideas, or actions

Easily reached from various points

An area of dense population

Of or constituting a single source controlling all components of a system

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

Of, relating to, or originating from the nervous system.

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

Relating to a centrum.

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

(Linguistics) Articulated in the middle of the oral cavity; neither front nor back. Used of vowels, as the u in cut.

(Physiology) A group of neurons in the central nervous system that control a particular function

Holding to a moderate ideological position between two extremes.

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

A telephone exchange.

(Football) An offensive lineman who snaps the ball to begin a play, usually positioned in the middle of the line.

An operator at a telephone exchange.

(Baseball) Center field.

A location or agency for the control or coordination of a group of related activities

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

A place that is a notable site for a given activity

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

A place that is characterized by a high concentration of a given thing

A centering.

Being in the centre.

A point in space equidistant from all the points on an arch or on a portion of an arch.

Having or containing the centre of something.

To place in or at the center

Being very important, or key to something.

To direct toward a center or central point; concentrate or focus

(anatomy) Exerting its action towards the peripheral organs.

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

Centre

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

Relating to the center; situated in or near the center or middle; containing the center; of or pertaining to the parts near the center; equidistant or equally accessible from certain points.

(Football) To hike (the ball) to begin a down.

The central, or one of the central, bones of the carpus or or tarsus. In the tarsus of man it is represented by the navicular.

To be concentrated; cluster

A workplace that serves as a telecommunications facility where lines from telephones can be connected together to permit communication

To have a central theme or concern; be focused

Serving as an essential component;

(Sports) To play as a center.

In or near a center or constituting a center; the inner area;

The point in the interior of a circle that is equidistant from all points on the circumference.

Used in the description of a place that in the middle of another place;

The point in the interior of a sphere that is equidistant from all points on the circumference.

Centrally located and easy to reach;

The middle portion of something; the part well away from the edges.

(obsolete) The innermost point of the Earth, or the Earth itself, as the center or foundation of the Universe; the center or foundation of the Universe abstractly.

(geometry) The point on a line that is midway between the ends.

(geometry) The point in the interior of any figure of any number of dimensions that has as its coordinates the arithmetic mean of the coordinates of all points on the perimeter of the figure (or of all points in the interior for a center of volume).

The subgroup (respectively, subring), denoted Z(G), of those elements of a given group (respectively, ring) G that commute with every element of G.

A place, especially a building or complex, set aside for some specified function or activity.

(politics) The ensemble of moderate or centrist political parties.

The venue in which the head of government in a centralized state is situated.

A topic that is particularly important in a given context, the element in a subject of cognition, volition or discussion that is perceived as decisive.

(sports) A player in the middle of a playing area.

(basketball) The player, generally the tallest, who plays closest to the basket.

(ice hockey) The forward that generally plays between the left wing and right wing and usually takes the faceoffs.

The person who holds the ball at the beginning of each play.

(netball) A player who can go all over the court, except the shooting circles.

(soccer) A pass played into the centre of the pitch.

(rugby) One of the backs operating in a central area of the pitch, either the inside centre or outside centre.

A certain mechanical implement functioning in the middle of a whole apparatus

(architecture) A temporary structure upon which the materials of a vault or arch are supported in position until the work becomes self-supporting.

(engineering) One of the two conical steel pins in a lathe, etc., upon which the work is held, and about which it revolves.

(engineering) A conical recess or indentation in the end of a shaft or other work, to receive the point of a center, on which the work can turn, as in a lathe.

The ring in the gambling game two-up in which the spinner operates.

Of, at, or related to a center.

(transitive) To cause (an object) to occupy the center of an area.

(transitive) To cause (some attribute, such as a mood or voltage) to be adjusted to a value which is midway between the extremes.

(transitive) To give (something) a central basis.

(intransitive) To concentrate on (something), to pay close attention to (something).

(engineering) To form a recess or indentation for the reception of a center.

A point equally distant from the extremities of a line, figure, or body, or from all parts of the circumference of a circle; the middle point or place.

The middle or central portion of anything.

A principal or important point of concentration; the nucleus around which things are gathered or to which they tend; an object of attention, action, or force; as, a center of attaction.

The earth.

Those members of a legislative assembly (as in France) who support the existing government. They sit in the middle of the legislative chamber, opposite the presiding officer, between the conservatives or monarchists, who sit on the right of the speaker, and the radicals or advanced republicans who occupy the seats on his left, See Right, and Left.

A temporary structure upon which the materials of a vault or arch are supported in position until the work becomes self-supporting.

One of the two conical steel pins, in a lathe, etc., upon which the work is held, and about which it revolves.

To be placed in a center; to be central.

To be collected to a point; to be concentrated; to rest on, or gather about, as a center.

To place or fix in the center or on a central point.

To collect to a point; to concentrate.

To form a recess or indentation for the reception of a center.

An area that is approximately central within some larger region;

The piece of ground in the outfield directly ahead of the catcher;

A building dedicated to a particular activity;

A point equidistant from the ends of a line or the extremities of a figure

The choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience;

The object upon which interest and attention focuses;

A cluster of nerve cells governing a specific bodily process;

The middle of a military or naval formation;

(basketball) the person who plays center on a basketball team

(football) the person who plays center on the line of scrimmage and snaps the ball to the quarterback;

A place where some particular activity is concentrated;

Politically moderate persons; centrists

(ice hockey) the person who plays center on a hockey team

The sweet central portion of a piece of candy that is enclosed in chocolate or some other covering

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;

The position on a hockey team of the player who participates in the face off at the beginning of the game

The position of the player on the line of scrimmage who puts the ball in play;

A position on a basketball team of the player who participates in the center jump to start the game

Center upon;

Direct one's attention on something;

Move into the center;

Equally distant from the extremes

Of or belonging to the political or intellectual right