From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Borrowed from Latin centrālis, from centrum (“centre”), from Ancient Greek κέντρον (kéntron); by surface analysis, centre +‎ -al.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛntɹ(ə)l/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛntɹəl/
• Rhymes: -ɛntɹəl
• Hyphenation: centr‧al

central (comparative more central, superlative most central or centralmost or (UK) centremost or (US) centermost)

1. Being in the centre.

   • 1814, William Wordsworth, “The Parsonage”, in The Poetical Works of William Wordsworth, volume V, London: Longman, published 1827, page 340:

     Egyption Thebes; / Tyre by the margin of the sounding waves; / Palmyra, central in the Desert, fell; / And the Arts died by which they had been raised.

   • 2013 July 27, “Putting down roots”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8846:

     The plantoid […] will have a central stem containing a reservoir of liquid plastic of a sort that can be frozen by ultraviolet light. Half a dozen cylindrical roots will branch off this stem, and the plastic will flow through these from the reservoir to the tip. As in a real root, the tip will be a specialised structure.

   • 2024 May 4, John Naughton, “The internet is in decline – it needs rewilding”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     The network had no central ownership or controller; and it did only one thing – transfer data packets from one edge of the network to their destination at another edge.

2. Having or containing the centre of something.
3. Being very important, or key to something.

   Synonyms: dominant, main, principal

   • 2012 September 7, Phil McNulty, “Moldova 0-5 England”, in BBC Sport:

     Cleverley was a central figure as England took the lead inside three minutes. He saw his shot handled by Moldovan defender Simion Bulgaru and Lampard drilled home the penalty in trademark fashion.

   • 2020 May 6, Jim Steer, “Full Business Case offers fresh insight into HS2's prospects”, in Rail, page 51, photo caption:

     Passengers crowd in the main concourse at London Euston on January 28 2017, before boarding West Coast Main Line services. The urgent need to relieve congestion and improve reliability on the WCML remains central in the recently published Full Business Case for HS2.

4. (anatomy) Exerting its action towards the peripheral organs.
5. (algebra) Belong or relating to the center of an algebraic structure.
   1. Of an element of an algebraic structure: which commutes with all other elements under multiplication
   2. Of a unital algebra over a field: whose center is exactly equal to the image of the base field

• center

central (plural centrals)

1. (especially US) center

Borrowed from Latin centrālis.

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [sənˈtɾal]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [senˈtɾal]

central m or f (masculine and feminine plural centrals)

1. central (being in the centre)

central f (plural centrals)

1. nexus; headquarters (non-military); central office

   Synonym: seu (“seat or headquarters”)

   Antonym: sucursal (“branch office”)

   Hyponyms: central telefònica, central telegràfica

2. (electricity) power plant

   Hyponyms: central elèctrica; central eòlica; central fotovoltaica; central geotèrmica; central heliotèrmica, central heliotermodinàmica; central hidràulica, central hidroelèctrica; central hidrotèrmica; central mareomotriu; central nuclear; central solar; central tèrmica, central termoelèctrica

• “central”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “central”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “central” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “central” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Borrowed from Latin centralis.

central c (singular definite centralen, plural indefinite centraler)

1. headquarters, place whence organizations are administrated

central

1. central, being in the centre

• “central” in Den Danske Ordbog

Borrowed from Latin centrālis. By surface analysis, centre +‎ -al.

• IPA^(key): /sɑ̃.tʁal/

central (feminine centrale, masculine plural centraux, feminine plural centrales)

1. central

   Antonym: périphérique

• → Turkish: santral

• “central”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

• raclent

Learned borrowing from Latin centrālis.

central m or f (plural centrais)

1. central

• “central”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026

Borrowed from Latin centrālis.

central m (feminine singular centrala, masculine plural centrals, feminine plural centralas)

1. central

Borrowed from Latin centrālis. By surface analysis, centro +‎ -al.

• Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
• Hyphenation: cen‧tral

central m or f (plural centrais)

1. central

central f (plural centrais)

1. centre
2. headquarters

central m or f by sense (plural centrais)

1. (Portugal, soccer) back (player in a position behind most players on the team)

• “central”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “central”, in Dicionário inFormal (in Portuguese), 2006–2026
• “central” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913
• “central”, in Dicionário infopédia da Lingua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “central”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2026, →ISBN
• “central”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Borrowed from French central, Latin centrālis. By surface analysis, centru +‎ -al.

• IPA^(key): [t͡ʃenˈtral]

central m or n (feminine singular centrală, masculine plural centrali, feminine/neuter plural centrale)

1. central, pivotal, nodal

Borrowed from Latin centrālis.

• IPA^(key): /θenˈtɾal/ [θẽn̪ˈt̪ɾal] (Equatorial Guinea, Spain)
• IPA^(key): /senˈtɾal/ [sẽn̪ˈt̪ɾal] (Latin America, Philippines)
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: cen‧tral

central m or f (masculine and feminine plural centrales)

1. central

central f (plural centrales)

1. headquarter
2. center
3. power station

   Synonym: centra eléctrica

central m or (Cuba) f (plural centrales)

1. (Nicaragua, Panama, Dominican Republic, Cuba) a sugar mill

• “central”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025
• “central”, in Diccionario de americanismos [Dictionary of Americanisms] (in Spanish), Association of Academies of the Spanish Language [Spanish: Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española], 2010

Borrowed from Latin centrālis, from centrum (“center point”) +‎ -ālis.

central

1. central, centralized, situated at the centre (of a town)
2. central, important

Clipping of centralstation, or any other compound of the adjective.

central c

1. a central, a centre, a central station, a junction, a connection point, an electrical switchboard

• “central”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)