释义 |
centre1 /ˈsɛntə /(US center) noun1The point that is equally distant from every point on the circumference of a circle or sphere.She was so angered by this thought that she had changed forms and was halfway to the center of the circle before she realized what she was doing....- She pushes it and the apple moves around her head as she stands still in the center of the circle created by its movement.
- The center of the circle or sphere is the position of the n-mer.
1.1A point or part that is equally distant from all sides, ends, or surfaces of something: the centre of the ceiling the city centre...- When touring the blues clubs of Chicago, it is best to stay around the centre and the north side of the city.
- The zippers are in the under surface at the centre and near to each cross boom end for inspection purposes.
- The peak in the center of this surface represented the large estimate of genetic variance in the E3 environment.
Synonyms middle, nucleus, heart, core, hub, pivot, kernel, eye, bosom; middle point, midpoint, halfway point, mean, median; interior; depths, thick, bullseye, focus, focal point, cynosure 1.2A political party or group whose opinions avoid extremes: [as modifier]: a new centre party...- The first round of the French presidential election showed the extent of the collapse of the centre parties.
- Several people wrote to suggest that the Democrats actually are the center party these days, and there's a lot of truth in that.
- Although Kinnock began on the left, he took the Labour Party into the political centre.
1.3The middle player in a line or group in certain team games.Only two players - centers Erick Dampier and Adonal Foyle - have been with the team longer than Richardson and power forward Troy Murphy....- Two centers earned NBA Players of the Week awards for their performance last week.
- Although the offensive line is without a center, it still is a formidable group.
1.4 Basketball The player who is positioned near the basket and is typically tallest on the team: only 10 centers averaged more than 10 points per game last year 1.5A kick, hit, or throw of the ball from the side to the middle of field in soccer, hockey, and other team games. 1.6The filling in a chocolate: truffles with liqueur centres...- A chocolate bar unfortunately unavailable in the US, milk chocolate with little caramel centres.
- Flatten each ball, put one part of filling in the centre and cover it to make an oval ball.
- In the confectionery industry today, fruit pastes appear to have been reduced to a minor role as centres for fondant, chocolates, and dragées.
1.7A pivot or axis of rotation.A passenger rides in one of seven cars, each mounted near the edge of its own circular platform but free to pivot about the center....- The effect of the torque depends on where, between the center of rotation and the outermost point, the initial force is applied.
- The centres of rotation of these semicircular flows travel down the body.
1.8A conical adjustable support for a workpiece in a lathe or similar machine.The primary use of a center in metalworking is to ensure concentric work is produced, this allows the workpiece to be transferred between operations without any loss of accuracy....- A center is also used to support longer work pieces where the cutting forces would deflect the work excessively, reducing the finish and accuracy of the workpiece, or creating a hazardous situation.
- The term between centers refers to any machining operation where the job needs to be performed using centers.
2The point from which an activity or process is directed, or on which it is focused: the city was a centre of discontent the managing director is at the centre of a row over policy...- Times Square, normally a centre of frenetic activity, was deserted.
- Coventry developed from a significant centre of production to a centre of motor car activity by the beginning of the First World War.
- Warsaw, which fell to Russia, became a centre of ballet activity.
2.1The most important place in the respect specified: Geneva was then the centre of the banking world...- Scotland is the centre of international attention more than at any time since it hosted the Commonwealth Games 20 years ago.
- As a result, new centres of power have surfaced.
- The dark areas on the surface are eruption centres.
3A place or group of buildings where a specified activity is concentrated: a conference centre...- The disused school building could be a centre for the community to meet and for visitors to gather.
- It is envisaged as a fully accessible cultural building and a centre for excellence in innovation.
- It will sell charity goods and film memorabilia, and will also double as an activity centre for terminally ill children.
verb1 [no object] ( be centred in) Occur mainly in or around (a specified place): the textile industry was centred in Lancashire and Yorkshire...- A number of Jewish pressure groups, mainly centred in North America called for the book to be pulped.
- It was actually formed by a number of scholars, mainly centred in Trinity College in Cambridge.
- The cancer centre is centred in Sligo and cares for patients in the surrounding counties - Leitrim, Roscommon, Donegal, Mayo and West Cavan.
1.1 ( centre around/on or centre something around/on) Have or cause to have (a specified concern or theme): the case centres around the couple’s adopted children [with object]: he is centring his discussion on an analysis of patterns of mortality...- His plan centers on increased support for renewable energy and for alternative motor fuels made from corn and soybeans.
- The idea of a film project centring on her and her music seemed to make great sense.
- Most of the discussions have centred around the future of the team and which players should be eligible to play for them.
Synonyms focus, concentrate, pivot, hinge, be based; revolve around, have as its starting point 2 [with object] Place in the middle: to centre the needle, turn the knob...- Place the keg on the scale and tilt it on its edge centering it in the middle of the scale.
- Center the nail in the nail slot and drive the nail straight in.
- These pressure distributions apply a side force to the hammer piston which strives to center the hammer piston in the guide.
2.1 [no object] (In soccer, hockey, and other team games) kick, hit, or throw the ball from the side to the middle of the playing area: he centred from a difficult position on the left...- In just the sixth minute of play Larkin beat her defender on the right side of the field and centered the ball to junior forward Fellows.
- James centered the ball for Macauley to finish with a header, but Mariano intervened and prevented a goal.
- "The player that centred the ball for Allen to score the equaliser was Richardson," he said.
2.2 [no object] chiefly North American Play as the middle player of a line or group in certain team games.The new Grumpy Old Men line of veterans Kirk Muller, Mike Keane and John MacLean became a real defensive weapon, joining productive lines centered by Mike Modano and Joe Nieuwendyk....- A former Penguin will center Jagr's line, but except for on the power play, it won't be Lang.
- In the meantime, Brad Chartrand is centering the Vlasak-Palffy line.
Phrasescentre of attention centre of attraction centre of buoyancy centre of curvature centre of excellence centre of flotation centre of gravity centre of mass centre of pressure Derivativescentremost adjective ...- Well, I want to hear it, because the morality of this country is centermost in my mind.
- But it's hidden in the centermost room - and if you complete my puzzles and find the shard, I'll set you free unconditionally.
- We planted about five seeds per pot and thinned to the centermost individual after most seeds had germinated, but did not explicitly measure germination rates or subsequent mortality.
OriginLate Middle English: from Old French, or from Latin centrum, from Greek kentron 'sharp point, stationary point of a pair of compasses', related to kentein 'to prick'. When you draw a circle with a pair of compasses, you use the point on one of the arms to prick a dot in the centre of the circle. The Greek word kentron meant ‘sharp point’, specifically the one on a pair of compasses, and for this reason the words descended from it, including the English centre, came to refer to the centre of a circle. What is now the American form center is in fact the older spelling, found in the works of Shakespeare. It was Dr Johnson's dictionary in 1755 that established centre as the preferred British spelling. Concentrate (mid 17th century) literally ‘centre together’ reached English via Latin.
Centre2 /ˈsɒ̃tr(ə) / /sɑ̃tʀ/A region of central France, including the cities of Orleans, Tours, and Chartres. |