4 N‑COUNT [usu sing] The centre of a town or city is the part where there are the most shops and businesses and where a lot of people come from other areas to work or shop. □ …the city centre.
5 N‑COUNT [usu sing] If something or someone is at the centre of a situation, they are the most important thing or person involved. □ [+ of ] …the man at the centre of the controversy. □ [+ of ] At the centre of the inquiry has been concern for the pensioners involved.
6 N‑COUNT [usu sing] If someone or something is the centre of attention or interest, people are giving them a lot of attention. □ [+ of ] The rest of the cast was used to her being the centre of attention. □ [+ of ] The centre of attraction was Pierre Auguste Renoir's oil painting.
7 N‑SING [oft N n] In politics, the centre refers to groups and their beliefs, when they are considered to be neither left-wing nor right-wing. □ The Democrats have become a party of the centre. □ …the centre parties.
8 VERB If something centres or is centred on a particular thing or person, that thing or person is the main subject of attention. □ [V + on/around ] …a plan which centred on academic achievement and personal motivation. □ [be V -ed + on/around ] When working with patients, my efforts are centred on helping them to overcome illness. [Also V n on/around n] ● -centred COMB □ …a child-centred approach to teaching.
9 VERB If an industry or event is centred in a place, or if it centres there, it takes place to the greatest extent there. □ [be V -ed prep] Chinese restaurants have traditionally been centred around Chinatown. □ [V prep] The disturbances have centred round the two main university areas. □ [V -ed] Between 100 and 150 travellers' vehicles were scattered around the county, with the largest gathering centred on Ampfield.
10 → see also community centre , detention centre , garden centre , health centre , job centre , left-of-centre , nerve centre , reception centre , remand centre , right-of-centre , shopping centre
cen|tred /se ntə r d/ in AM, use centered 1 ADJ If an industry or event is centred in a place, it takes place to the greatest extent there. □ The tremor was centred in the Gulf of Sirte.
2 ADJ If you feel centred , you feel calm, confident, and in control of your emotions. □ I'm trying to be more centred, and not fall apart when I go through difficult things.
-centred /-sentə r d/ in AM, use -centered 1 COMB -centred can be added to adjectives and nouns to indicate what kind of a centre something has. □ …lemon-centered white chocolates.
2 → see also centre , self-centred
centre|fold /se ntə r foʊld/ (centrefolds ) in AM, use centerfold N‑COUNT A centrefold is a picture that covers the two central pages of a magazine, especially a photograph of a naked or partly naked woman.
ce ntre-fo rward (centre-forwards ) N‑COUNT A centre-forward in a team sport such as football or hockey is the player or position in the middle of the front row of attacking players.
ce n|tre of gra v|ity (centres of gravity ) N‑COUNT The centre of gravity of an object is a point in it. If this point is above the base of the object, it stays stable, rather than falling over.
centre|piece /se ntə r piːs/ (centrepieces ) in AM, use centerpiece 1 N‑COUNT The centrepiece of something is the best or most interesting part of it. □ [+ of ] The centrepiece of the plan is the idea of regular referendums, initiated by voters.
2 N‑COUNT A centrepiece is an ornament which you put in the middle of something, especially a dinner table.
ce n|tre sta ge The spellings centre-stage in British English, and center stage in American English are also used. N‑UNCOUNT [oft the N ] If something or someone takes centre stage , they become very important or noticeable. □ Nuclear proliferation has returned to centre stage in international affairs.
cen|trifu|gal force /sentr I fjʊg ə l fɔː r s/ N‑UNCOUNT In physics, centrifugal force is the force that makes objects move outwards when they are spinning around something or travelling in a curve. □ The juice is extracted by centrifugal force.
cen|tri|fuge /se ntr I fjuːdʒ/ (centrifuges ) N‑COUNT A centrifuge is a machine that spins mixtures of different substances around very quickly so that they separate by centrifugal force.
cen|trist /se ntr I st/ (centrists ) ADJ [usu ADJ n] Centrist policies and parties are moderate rather than extreme. □ He had left the movement because it had abandoned its centrist policies. ● N‑COUNT A centrist is someone with centrist views.
cen|tu|ri|on /sentjʊə riən, [AM ] -tʊr -/ (centurions ) N‑COUNT A centurion was an officer in the Roman army.
cen|tu|ry ◆◆◆ /se ntʃəri/ (centuries )
1 N‑COUNT A century is a period of a hundred years that is used when stating a date. For example, the 19th century was the period from 1801 to 1900. □ …celebrated figures of the late eighteenth century. □ …a 17th-century merchant's house.
2 N‑COUNT A century is any period of a hundred years. □ The drought there is the worst in a century.
3 N‑COUNT In cricket, a century is a score of one hundred runs or more by one batsman.