centre

See also: Centre, centré, and centrē

English

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

(non-rhotic)
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛntəː/, [ˈsɛntʰəː]
(non-rhotic)
- (General American)
  - (without nt-flapping) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛntɚ/, [ˈsɛntʰɚ] ~ [ˈsɛntʰɹ̩]
  - (nt-flapping) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛɾ̃ɚ/, [ˈsɛɾ̃ɚ] ~ [ˈsɛɾ̃ɹ̩]
    - Audio (US): (file)
      - (Southern US, African-American Vernacular, pin–pen merger)
        (without nt-flapping) IPA^(key): /ˈsɪntɚ/, [ˈsɪ̟ntʰɚ] ~ [ˈsɪ̟ntʰɹ̩]
        Audio (US): (file)
        
        (nt-flapping) IPA^(key): /ˈsɪɾ̃ɚ/, [ˈsɪ̟ɾ̃ɚ] ~ [ˈsɪ̟ɾ̃ɹ̩]
Rhymes: -ɛntə(ɹ)
Hyphenation: cen‧tre
Homophones: sinner, sender, cinter, cinder (pin–pen merger, nt-flapping)

Noun

centre (plural centres)

Australia, UK, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and South Africa standard 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.
- 2025 August 10, Don Riddell, “Now that my kids are off to college, what’s this empty nester dad to do?”, in CNN‎^[1]:
  As Dodd wrote in ‘The Empty Nest,’ “To me, it was glaringly obvious that parting from a child who has been the centre of your life for twenty-odd years is a really big deal. Yet while new parents are bombarded with advice, empty nest parents are left to muddle through what is arguably the most challenging phase of parenting.”

Derived terms

Descendants

→ Japanese: センター
→ Korean: 센터 (senteo)

Translations

center — see center

position in Rugby football in the back line

Māori: topapū

Verb

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

(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.