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.

Definitions of central
  1. adjective
    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
    see moresee less
    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...
  2. adjective
    serving as an essential component
    “the central cause of the problem”
    synonyms: cardinal, fundamental, key, primal
    important, of import
    of great significance or value
  3. noun
    a workplace that serves as a telecommunications facility where lines from telephones can be connected together to permit communication
    synonyms: exchange, telephone exchange
    see moresee less
    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
Word Family