cen‧tre 1 S1 W1 British English , center American English / sentə $ -ər / 名词
1 middle [可数名词，通常单数] the middle of a space, area, or object, especially the exact middle
in the centre (of something)
There was an enormous oak table in the center of the room.
The hotel is right in the centre of the village.
centre of
Draw a line through the centre of the circle.
lines radiating out from the centre
chocolates with soft centres
2 building [可数名词] a building which is used for a particular purpose or activity
centre for
the European Centre for Nuclear Research
an exhibition at the Community Arts Centre
a conference centre
3 place of activity [可数名词] a place where there is a lot of a particular type of business, activity etc
business/commercial/financial etc centre
a major banking centre
It’s not exactly a cultural center like Paris.
centre of/for
The city became a centre for the paper industry.
a center of academic excellence (= a very good place for education )
4 of a town [可数名词] British English the part of a town or city where most of the shops, restaurants, cinemas, theatres etc are 同义词 downtown American English
town/city centre
shops in the town centre
the main route into Leeds city centre
5 involvement be at the centre of something if a person or thing is at the centre of something that is happening, they are involved in it more than other people or things :
He always seems to be at the centre of things.
be at the centre of a row/dispute/controversy etc
the businessman at the centre of the row over political donations
6 be the centre of attention to be the person that everyone is giving attention to :
Betty just loves being the centre of attention.
7 be/take centre stage if something or someone is centre stage, they have an important position and get a lot of attention :
After his father’s death, he was able to rise to power and take centre stage.
8 politics the centre a moderate (= middle ) position in politics in which you do not support extreme ideas :
The party’s new policies show a swing towards the centre.
left/right of centre
Her political views are slightly left of centre.
centre-right/centre-left
a centre-left government
9 sport [可数名词] a player in sports such as American football and basketball who plays in or near the middle of the field or playing area :
the Sonics’ six-foot-four-inch center
centre forward/half/back etc (= players in different parts of the middle section of the playing area )
10 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.
COLLOCATIONS
types of centre
a shopping centre They are building a huge new shopping centre just outside the town.
an information centre For further details contact the Tourist Information Centre.
a visitor centre The forest has a visitor centre with information and refreshment facilities.
a leisure centre British English (= for sport and other leisure activities ) There’s a leisure centre with a swimming pool, a sauna, and a gymnasium.
a sports centre You could join exercise classes at your local sports centre.
a garden centre British English (= where you can buy plants, trees etc ) The garden centre stocks a wide variety of houseplants.
an arts centre (= for art, music, theatre, film etc ) Shall we go to the concert at the arts centre on Saturday?
an exhibition centre The exhibition centre has an interesting display of contemporary art.
a research centre the new research centre at King’s College Hospital
a conference centre Westgate Hotel has sixty bedrooms and a conference centre.
a training centre He was a new recruit at the police training centre.
a health/medical centre (= where there are several doctors you can see for medical treatment ) The village has a small school and a health centre.
a day centre British English (= where old, sick etc people can go during the day to be looked after ) A new day centre for the over 70s has recently opened.
a community centre (= where people living in an area can go for social events, classes etc ) The church has been converted into a community centre.
an education centre Many elderly people come to the education centre to learn to use computers.
a job centre (= a place in Britain where jobs are advertised ) I got the job through an advertisement at the job centre.
a youth centre (= where young people can go to meet and take part in activities ) The money will be used to provide a youth centre.
COLLOCATIONS
types of centre
a financial centre Boston is a leading financial centre.
a business centre The company has branches worldwide in fifteen major business centres.
a commercial centre Our city is the biggest commercial centre in the country.
a cultural centre Paris was then the cultural centre of Europe.
a tourist centre Our destination was Queenstown, a tourist centre set amid mountains and lakes.
a trading centre The town was a trading centre for the Romans.
a major centre for/of something The region has been named as a major centre of international terrorism.
a world centre for/of something The Asian Pacific Rim is a major world centre of commerce, industry, and economic activity.
an international centre for/of something Zurich is an international centre of finance.
a national centre for/of something The gardens are a national centre for botanical research.