central: Meaning and Definition of

cen•tral

Pronunciation: (sen'trul), [key]
— adj.
  1. of or forming the center: the central hut in the village.
  2. in, at, or near the center: a central position.
  3. constituting something from which other related things proceed or upon which they depend: a central office.
  4. principal; chief; dominant: the play's central character.
    1. of or pertaining to the central nervous system.
    2. of or pertaining to the centrum of a vertebra.
  5. (of a speech sound) produced with the tongue articulating neither expressly forward nor in the back part of the mouth, as any of the sounds of lull.
  6. (of a force) directed to or from a fixed point.
—n.
  1. (formerly)
    1. a main telephone exchange.
    2. a telephone operator at such an exchange.

cen•tral

Pronunciation: (sen-träl' Sp. sen-träl'), [key]
— pl. -trals, -tra•les
  1. (in Spanish America and the Philippines) a mill for crushing cane into raw sugar.

Cen•tral

Pronunciation: (sen'trul), [key]
— n.
  1. a region in central Scotland. 269,281. 1016 sq. mi. (2631 sq. km).
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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