centre

Alternative forms

• center (US)

Etymology

From Middle English center, centre, from Middle French centre, from Latin centrum, from Ancient Greek κέντρον (kéntron), from κεντεῖν (kenteîn, “to prick, goad”). Doublet of centrum.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛntə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛntəɹ/, [ˈsɛɾ̃əɹ]

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• (pin–pen merger, nt-flapping) IPA^(key): [ˈsɪɾ̃ɚ]
• Homophone: sinner (pin–pen merger, nt-flapping)
• Rhymes: -ɛntə(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: cen‧tre

Noun

centre (plural centres)

1. (Australian spelling, British spelling, Canadian spelling, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa) Alternative spelling of center.
   • (middle portion)
     1944 November and December, A Former Pupil, “Some Memories of Crewe Works—II”, in Railway Magazine, page 343:

     So after a short spell in the brass foundry the wisest course was to follow with a similar period in the steel foundry, where much important work was done, including the manufacture of centres for wheels.

   • 2018, Balázs Áron Kovács, Peace Infrastructures and State-Building at the Margins, Springer, →ISBN, page 280:

     The phrase 'Imperial Manila' is used throughout the archipelago to denote the capital-heavy decision-making and the imposition of the will and culture of the political and economic centre on the peripheries.

Verb

centre (third-person singular simple present centres, present participle centring or centreing, simple past and past participle centred)

1. (Australian spelling, British spelling, Canadian spelling, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa) Alternative spelling of center.
   • 1962 February, “Talking of Trains: The "Midland Pullman"”, in Modern Railways, page 77:

     One controversy which has not had an airing in discussion of the new Transport Bill is that centring on the status of the Pullman Car Co.

   • 1988, Peter Hunter, “Back to School: Dealing with Dissent”, in Which Side Are You On, Boys: Canadian Life on the Left, Toronto, Ont.: Lugus Productions Ltd., →ISBN, page 96:

     A contribution to a wall newspaper of which I was an editor in our sector poked fun at the never-changing menu in the school cafeteria. It centred on the various and devious methods used in serving us hamburger. One time it would be called hamburger, another time bifshtek, then cutlet, and sneakiest of all, schnitzel—the only difference among them was usually only in their shape or whether bread crumbs had been used.

Anagrams

• recent, center, Recent, Center, tenrec

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin centrum, from Ancient Greek κέντρον (kéntron), from κεντεῖν (kenteîn, “to prick, goad”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈsen.tɾə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈsen.tɾe]

Noun

centre m (plural centres)

1. center (point in the interior of a circle)
2. center (middle portion of something)
3. center (place where some function or activity occurs)
4. center (topic that is particularly important)
5. downtown (business center of a city)

Further reading

• “centre”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], 2007 April
• “centre”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025.
• “centre” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “centre” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈt͡sentre/
• Rhymes: -entre
• Hyphenation: cen‧tre

Adverb

centre

1. centrally

Etymology

From Old French centre (13th c.), a borrowing from Latin centrum, from Ancient Greek κέντρον (kéntron, “sharp point”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɑ̃tʁ/
  • (FR) IPA^(key): [sɒ̃tʁ], [sɒ̃tχ]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (Paris):

  (file)

Noun

centre m (plural centres)

1. centre, center
2. (soccer) cross, specifically one directed into the penalty area

Further reading

• “centre”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• créent
• récent

Noun

centrè

1. locative singular of ceñtras (“centre”)

Noun

ceñtre

1. vocative singular of ceñtras (“centre”)

Verb

centre

1. inflection of centrar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Verb

centre

1. inflection of centrar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative