centre

cen|tre¹ W1S1 BrE center AmE [ˈsentə US -ər] n

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1¦(middle)¦

2¦(building)¦

3¦(place of activity)¦

4¦(of a town)¦

5¦(involvement)¦

6 be the centre of attention

7 be/take centre stage

8¦(politics)¦

9¦(sport)¦

10 centre of population/urban centre

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1.) ¦(MIDDLE)¦ [C usually singular]

the middle of a space, area, or object, especially the exact middle

in the centre (of sth)

▪ There was an enormous oak table in the center of the room.

▪ The hotel is right in the centre of the village.

centre of

▪ Draw a line through the centre of the circle.

▪ lines radiating out from the centre

▪ chocolates with soft centres

2.) ¦(BUILDING)¦

a building which is used for a particular purpose or activity

centre for

▪ the European Centre for Nuclear Research

▪ an exhibition at the Community Arts Centre

▪ a conference centre

3.) ¦(PLACE OF ACTIVITY)¦

a place where there is a lot of a particular type of business, activity etc

business/commercial/financial etc centre

▪ a major banking centre

▪ It's not exactly a cultural center like Paris.

centre of/for

▪ The city became a centre for the paper industry.

▪ a center of academic excellence (=a very good place for education)

4.) ¦(OF A TOWN)¦ BrE

the part of a town or city where most of the shops, restaurants, cinemas, theatres etc are

American Equivalent: downtowntown/city centre

▪ shops in the town centre

▪ the main route into Leeds city centre

5.) ¦(INVOLVEMENT)¦

be at the centre of sth

if a person or thing is at the centre of something that is happening, they are involved in it more than other people or things

▪ He always seems to be at the centre of things.

be at the centre of a row/dispute/controversy etc

▪ the businessman at the centre of the row over political donations

6.) be the centre of attention

to be the person that everyone is giving attention to

▪ Betty just loves being the centre of attention.

7.) be/take centre stage

if something or someone is centre stage, they have an important position and get a lot of attention

▪ After his father's death, he was able to rise to power and take centre stage.

8.) ¦(POLITICS)¦

the centre

a ↑moderate (=middle) position in politics in which you do not support extreme ideas

▪ The party's new policies show a swing towards the centre.

left/right of centre

▪ Her political views are slightly left of centre.

centre-right/centre-left

▪ a centre-left government

9.) ¦(SPORT)¦

a player in sports such as football and ↑basketball who plays in or near the middle of the field or playing area

▪ the Sonics' six-foot-four-inch center

centre forward/half/back etc

(=players in different parts of the middle section of the playing area)

10.) centre of population/urban centre

an area where a large number of people live

▪ Nuclear installations are built well away from the main centres of population.

centre ²

centre² BrE center AmE v [T]

to move something to a position at the centre of something else

▪ The title isn't quite centred on the page, is it?

centre around/round [centre around/round sth] phr v

if your thoughts, activities etc centre around something or are centred around it, it is the main thing that you are concerned with or interested in

▪ In the 16th century, village life centred around religion.

centre on/upon [centre on/upon sth] phr v

if your attention centres on something or someone, or is centred on them, you pay more attention to them than anything else

▪ The debate centred on funding for health services.

▪ Much of their work is centred on local development projects.