France, French Republic - a republic in western Europe; the largest country wholly in Europe

area, country - a particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography); "it was a mountainous area"; "Bible country"

storm center, storm centre - the central area or place of lowest barometric pressure within a storm

financial center - the part of a city where financial institutions are centered

hub - a center of activity or interest or commerce or transportation; a focal point around which events revolve; "the playground is the hub of parental supervision"; "the airport is the economic hub of the area"

inner city - the older and more populated and (usually) poorer central section of a city

medical center - the part of a city where medical facilities are centered

midfield - (sports) the middle part of a playing field (as in football or lacrosse)

seat - a center of authority (as a city from which authority is exercised)

bight - the middle part of a slack rope (as distinguished from its ends)

bowels - the center of the Earth

center of gravity, centre of gravity - the point within something at which gravity can be considered to act; in uniform gravity it is equal to the center of mass

core - the center of an object; "the ball has a titanium core"

navel point, navel - the center point or middle of something; "the Incas believed that Cuzco was the navel of the universe"

nombril - the center point on a shield

point - the precise location of something; a spatially limited location; "she walked to a point where she could survey the whole street"

core - the central part of the Earth

nucleus - the positively charged dense center of an atom

nucleus - (astronomy) the center of the head of a comet; consists of small solid particles of ice and frozen gas that vaporizes on approaching the sun to form the coma and tail

place, property - any area set aside for a particular purpose; "who owns this place?"; "the president was concerned about the property across from the White House"

nerve center, nerve centre - a center that provides information and control; "the nerve center of the diamond industry is in Amsterdam"

capital - a center that is associated more than any other with some activity or product; "the crime capital of Italy"; "the drug capital of Columbia"

bare bones - (plural) the most basic facts or elements; "he told us only the bare bones of the story"

hypostasis - (metaphysics) essential nature or underlying reality

haecceity, quiddity - the essence that makes something the kind of thing it is and makes it different from any other

quintessence - the purest and most concentrated essence of something

stuff - a critically important or characteristic component; "suspense is the very stuff of narrative"

object - the focus of cognitions or feelings; "objects of thought"; "the object of my affection"

crosshairs - a center of interest; "the war on terrorism has put Saddam Hussein in the crosshairs"

cynosure - something that strongly attracts attention and admiration; "if he was the cynosure of all eyes he didn't notice"

eye-catcher - a striking person or thing that attracts attention

neural structure - a structure that is part of the nervous system

auditory center - the part of the brain (in a fold of the cerebral cortex of the temporal lobe on both sides of the brain) that receives impulses from the ear by way of the auditory nerve

olfactory brain, rhinencephalon - a center in the cerebral hemispheres that governs the sense of smell in lower animals; in humans it seems to mediate complex emotional behavior

Wernicke's area, Wernicke's center - the auditory word center; located in the posterior part of the superior temporal convolution in most people

superior colliculus - an essential visual center between the retina and the striate cortex

respiratory center - the center in the medulla oblongata and pons that integrates sensory information about the level of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood and determines the signals to be sent to the respiratory muscles

building, edifice - a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place; "there was a three-story building on the corner"; "it was an imposing edifice"

burn center - a center where patients with severe burns can be treated

call center, call centre - a center equipped to handle a large volume of telephone calls (especially for taking orders or serving customers)

civic center, community center - a center where the members of a community can gather for social or cultural activities

control center - the operational center for a group of related activities; "the general in command never left the control center"

service club - a recreational center for servicemen

settlement house - a center in an underprivileged area that provides community services

student center - a center for student activities at a college or university

move, displace - cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense; "Move those boxes into the corner, please"; "I'm moving my money to another bank"; "The director moved more responsibilities onto his new assistant"

cerebrate, cogitate, think - use or exercise the mind or one's power of reason in order to make inferences, decisions, or arrive at a solution or judgments; "I've been thinking all day and getting nowhere"

rivet - hold (someone's attention); "The discovery of the skull riveted the paleontologists"

recall - cause one's (or someone else's) thoughts or attention to return from a reverie or digression; "She was recalled by a loud laugh"

think - focus one's attention on a certain state; "Think big"; "think thin"

zoom in - examine closely; focus one's attention on; "He zoomed in on the book"

take heed, listen, hear - listen and pay attention; "Listen to your father"; "We must hear the expert before we make a decision"