Definition of: central

(sen′trəl) adjective
1. Of or pertaining to, equidistant or acting from, the center.
2. Being a dominant or controlling factor, element, etc.; chief.
3. Constituting the principal point; a central event in history.
4. Phonet. Formed with a tongue position intermediate between front and back: said of vowels.
—noun
1. Colloq. A telephone exchange; also, the operator in charge of it.
2. In Latin America, a sugar mill grinding for a number of plantations. [<L centralis <centrum center]
—cen′tral·ly adverb
—cen′tral·ness noun