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ceramics
was central to the plot of the book. —by adv. a centrally located office | a centrally heated house (=with central heating) | a centrally planned economy (=one using central planning)
central African Re'public, the a country in central Africa. Population: 3,683,538 (2003). Capital: Bangui.
central A'merica a narrow piece of land joining North and South America, and consisting of Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama
central 'bank n a state-owned bank which controls the amount of money available and the general banking systems in a country, and influences interest rates. In Britain the central bank is the Bank of England. In the US it is the Federal Reserve Bank.
central 'Criminal ,Court, the the official name of the OLD BAILEY, the most important criminal court in the UK
central 'Daylight Time abbrev. CDT n [U] AmE the time used in the summer months in the Central TIME ZONE of the US
central 'government n [C;U] the government of the country as a whole from a political centre, as opposed to local government
central 'heating n [U] a system of heating buildings in which heat is produced and controlled at a single point and carried by pipes to the various parts of the building by hot air or water. Many private houses in Britain and the US have central heating.
central In'telligence ,Agency, the the full name of the CIA
cen·tral·is·m /'sentrəlɪzəm/ n [U] the practice of or principle of bringing something under the control of the central body of an organization, such as a political or educational system
cen·tral·ize also -ise BrE /'sentrəlaɪz/ v [T] to bring under central control: The process of economic planning has been centralized. ➔ see also DECENTRALIZE —ization /ˌsentrəlaɪˈzeʃən -'træl- / n [U]
central 'locking n [U] a system of operating the locks on a vehicle by one door only. The others then lock or unlock at he same time: My new car has central locking.
central 'Mosque, the the main Muslim place of worship in Britain, in Regents Park London
central 'nervous ,system n the part of the NERVOUS SYSTEM which consists of the brain and the SPINAL CORD
central 'Office the main office of the British Conservative Party
Central ,Office of Infor'mation, the a British govern-ment organization that produces books, reports etc giving information about the activities of the various government departments
Central 'Park the main city park in New York City, which is in the middle of Manhattan. It is very big, and has a ZOO, a concert stage, and an open-air theatre where Shakespeare plays are performed in the summer.
central 'planning n [U] the system of arranging the economic situation especially of a COMMUNIST country by means of orders from a central government
central 'processing ,unit abbrev. CPU n the most important controlling part of a computer system where the main operations are performed ➔ see also MICROPROCESSOR
central reservation BrE : median strip AmE — n a thin area of land running down the middle of a large road, to keep traffic apart
Central 'Standard Time also 'Central Time, abbrev. 'CST n [U] AmE the time used for Autumn to Spring in the central TIME ZONE of the US
centre BrE || -ter AmE /'sentə/ n 1 [C; often pl] a middle part or point; point equally distant from all sides; the exact middle, especially the point around which a circle is drawn: although London is Britain's capital it is not at the centre of the country. | I like chocolates with soft centres. | the high cost of land in the centre of the city ➔ see also DEAD CENTRE 2 [C] a) the main or most active area in relation to a particular activity: Hong Kong is a major banking and financial centre. | the centre of the nation's shipbuilding industry b) a place or building intended for a stated activity: a sports/leisure centre | a youth training centre ➔ see also CONFERENCE CENTRE, DETENTION CENTRE, JOB CENTRE 3 [C] an area where a large number of people live: The missiles are aimed at military targets, not at urban centres/centres of population. 4 [the+S] a middle position, in politics, not supporting EXTREME ideas; a MODERATE political position: Political parties often move to the centre just before an election. | Her political views are slightly left of centre. 5 [C] (in games like football) a player who plays in or near the middle of the field ➔ compare BACK FORWARD; see also COST CENTRE; see MIDDLE (USAGE)
centre² BrE || -ter AmE — v [T] to place in or at the centre: to centre a picture on the wall
centre (sthg.) on/upon/round/around sbdy./sthg. phr v [T usually pass.] to (cause to) have as a main subject or area of concern: The dispute centres on the question of overtime pay. | Our thoughts were centred on the girl who had died. | His interests are centred round his family.
'centre ,court (often cap.) the main tennis court at WIMBLEDON, where the best players play their matches in front of seated crowds: Hingis is on centre court at 2 pm.
cen·tred BrE || centered AmE /'sentədl-ərd/ adj 1 also -centred [F] having a particular person or group as the most important part or FOCUS of something: a student-centred approach | family centered care 2 feeling calm and in control of your life and feelings: Julia seems very centred nowadays.
cen·tre·fold BrE || -terfold AmE /'sentəʊfəʊld||-tər-/ n (a picture covering all of) the two facing pages in the middle of a magazine. The word is especially used to describe a picture of a young woman with no clothes on, photographed in a position which is intended to be sexually exciting.
,centre 'forward n becoming rare (in football) an attacking player who plays in the centre of the field
,centre of 'gravity n that point in any object on which it will balance
'centre ,party n a political party which is seen as having a MODERATE political position
cen·tre·piece BrE || -terpiece AmE /'sentəpi:s||-ər-/ n 1 a decoration, especially an arrangement of flowers, placed in the middle of a table 2 [often pl] the most noticeable, attractive, or important part of a larger whole: These tax cuts are the centrepiece of their economic programme.
,centre 'stage n [U] the place or person to which everyone's attention is drawn
cen·tri·fu·gal /ˌsentrɪ'fju:gəl, sen'trɪfʊgəl||sen'trɪfʊgəl/ adj tech tending to move in a direction away from the centre: centrifugal force ➔ opposite CENTRIPETAL
cen·tri·fuge /'sentrɪfju:dʒ/ n an apparatus for spinning a container round very quickly so that the heavier liquids and any solids are forced to the outer edge or bottom of the container
cen·trip·e·tal /sen'trɪptl/ adj tech tending to move in a direction towards the centre: centripetal force ➔ opposite CENTRIFUGAL
cen·trist /'sentrɪst/ n, adj (of) a person who supports the CENTRE in politics; MODERATE
cen·tu·ri·on /ˌsentʃʊərɪən||'tʊər-/ n an army officer of ancient Rome, commanding a company of about 100 soldiers
cen·tu·ry /'sentʃərI/ n 1 a period of 100 years 2 (sometimes cap.) any of the 100-year periods counted forwards or backwards from the supposed year of Christ's birth: The church was built in the 13th century. | by the beginning of the next century | the story of life on a small farm at the turn of the century (=the beginning of the century) 3 100 runs made by one cricket player in one INNINGS: He made/scored a century.
CEO /ˌsi: ˌi: 'əʊ/ n abbrev. for Chief Executive Officer; the person with the most authority in a large company
ce·phal·ic /sə'fælɪk/ adj [A] tech of or connected with the head
ce·ram·ics /sɪ'ræmɪks/ n 1 [U] the making of pots, TILES etc by shaping pieces of clay and baking them until they are