centre

1 BrE, center AmE noun

1 MIDDLE (C) the middle of a space, area, or object, especially the exact middle: Draw a line through the centre of the circle. | Tony only likes chocolates with soft centres.

(+ of): There was an enormous oak table in the center of the room.

2 PLACE/BUILDING (C) a place or building which is used for a particular purpose or activity: the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center | a huge new suburban shopping center | I'll just get a cab to the conference centre.

-see also: garden centre, job centre

3 CENTRE OF ACTIVITY (C) a place where most of the important things happen that are connected with a particular business or activity: a major banking centre | It's not exactly a cultural center like Paris.

(+ of): The main Control Room is the centre of the communications system. | a center of academic excellence

4 OF A TOWN (C) BrE the part of a town or city where most of the shops, restaurants, cinemas, theatres etc are; downtown AmE city/town centre: parking facilities in the town centre

5 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.

6 OF ATTENTION/INTEREST someone or something to which people give a lot of attention: be the centre of attention: Betty just loves being the center of attention. | be at the centre of a row/dispute/controversy etc (=be the person or thing most involved in a quarrel etc and therefore getting the most attention)

7 IN POLITICS the centre a moderate (=middle) position in politics which does not support extreme ideas: The party's new policies show a swing towards the centre. | left/right of centre: As far as I can tell, her political views are slightly left of centre.

8 IN SPORT (C) a player in games such as football or basketball who plays in or near the middle of the field or playing area: the Sonics' six-foot-four-inch center

2 BrE, center AmE verb (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 on/upon phrasal verb (T) 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 the morality of fox hunting. | be centred on: Anyone could see that his interest was centered on Bess. centre around also centre round BrE phrasal verb (I, T) 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.