the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience; "the gist of the prosecutor's argument"; "the heart and soul of the Republican Party"; "the nub of the story"
a single whole grain of a cereal; "a kernel of corn"
the inner and usually edible part of a seed or grain or nut or fruit stone; "black walnut kernels are difficult to get out of the shell"
a position on a basketball team of the player who participates in the jump that starts the game
the position of the player on the line of scrimmage who puts the ball in play; "it is a center's responsibility to get the football to the quarterback"
the position on a hockey team of the player who participates in the face off at the beginning of the game
a building dedicated to a particular activity; "they were raising money to build a new center for research"
a cluster of nerve cells governing a specific bodily process; "in most people the speech center is in the left hemisphere"
the object upon which interest and attention focuses; "his stories made him the center of the party"
the sweet central portion of a piece of candy that is enclosed in chocolate or some other covering
politically moderate persons; centrists
the middle of a military or naval formation; "they had to reinforce the center"
a place where some particular activity is concentrated; "they received messages from several centers"
a point equidistant from the ends of a line or the extremities of a figure
an area that is approximately central within some larger region; "it is in the center of town"; "they ran forward into the heart of the struggle"; "they were in the eye of the storm"
(football) the person who plays center on the line of scrimmage and snaps the ball to the quarterback; "the center fumbled the handoff"
(basketball) the person who plays center on a basketball team
(ice hockey) the person who plays center on a hockey team
of or belonging to neither the right nor the left politically or intellectually
move into the center; "That vase in the picture is not centered"
happening or arising or located within some limits or especially surface; "internal organs"; "internal mechanism of a toy"; "internal party maneuvering"
occurring within an institution or community; "intragroup squabbling within the corporation"
the usage or vocabulary that is characteristic of a specific group of people; "the immigrants spoke an odd dialect of English"; "he has a strong German accent"; "it has been said that a language is a dialect with an army and navy"
a world organization of autonomous states that are united in allegiance to a central power but are not subordinate to it or to one another
the official name of some states in the United States (Massachusetts and Pennsylvania and Virginia and Kentucky) and associated territories (Puerto Rico)