central

Anything central is in the middle of something — or essential to it. Central things are fundamental and important.

Think about the center of a circle: it's right in the middle, equidistant from all sides. Similarly, anything central is in the middle of something. The central part of a city is downtown. You can also say something central is an important, crucial part of something. National security is a central responsibility of the President. Communication is a central goal of writing. Central things are essential and key.

Primary Meanings of central

1.
 adj
in or near a center or constituting a center; the inner area
2.
 n
a workplace that serves as a telecommunications facility where lines from telephones can be connected together to permit communication
Full Definitions of central
1

adj in or near a center or constituting a center; the inner area

“a central position”
Synonyms:
amidship
located in the middle part of a ship or aircraft
bicentric
having two centers
bifocal
having two foci
center, halfway, middle, midway
equally distant from the extremes
centered
being or placed in the center
centric, centrical
having or situated at or near a center
focal
having or localized centrally at a focus
medial, median
relating to or situated in or extending toward the middle
middlemost, midmost
being in the exact middle
nuclear
constituting or like a nucleus
Antonyms:
peripheral
on or near an edge or constituting an outer boundary; the outer area
circumferential
lying around or just outside the edges or outskirts
fringy, marginal
at or constituting a border or edge
encircling, skirting
being all around the edges; enclosing
off-base
located outside a military base
show more antonyms...

adj serving as an essential component

“the central cause of the problem”
Synonyms:
cardinal, fundamental, key, primal
important, of import
of great significance or value
2

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

Synonyms:
exchange, telephone exchange
Types:
centrex
(CENTRal EXchange) a kind of telephone exchange
patchboard, plugboard, switchboard
telephone central where circuits are completed with patchcords
Type of:
work, workplace
a place where work is done

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