[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/centre.html)

[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/) / [The school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/) / centre

[← C](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/C/)

# centre

«centre» in Mova's school dictionary: **the middle point or part of something** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a centre, centres); verb (centre, centres, centred, centring); American spelling center

### meaning for a pupil

1) The centre is the middle point or part of something. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/centre/#m1)

2) A centre is a building or place used for a special activity, like a sports centre or shopping centre. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/centre/#m2)

3) The centre of attention is the person everyone is looking at. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/centre/#m3)

4) To centre something means to put it in the middle. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/centre/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In maths, the centre of a circle is the point the same distance from every point on the edge; the radius goes from the centre to the edge. In everyday life, you go to the town centre (UK) or downtown (US), a leisure centre, a health centre. In science, the Earth's centre is its core, and the Sun is at the centre of the solar system. In safety, «meet at the centre» is a clear meeting point if you get lost. In sport, the centre is a player's position.

### examples

- Draw a circle and mark its centre. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/centre/#x1)
- We went swimming at the sports centre. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/centre/#x2)
- The Sun is at the centre of our solar system. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/centre/#x3)
- The bakery is in the centre of town. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/centre/#x4)
- She loves being the centre of attention. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/centre/#x5)
- Centre the title at the top of the page. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/centre/#x6)
- The radius goes from the centre to the edge. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/centre/#x7)
- "Let those in the centre carry you," said the birds. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/centre/#x8)

### note

British, Australian, New Zealand, Irish and Canadian spelling: «centre»; American: «center». Adjective «central». Same idea in other words: «centimetre/centimeter», «theatre/theater». In maths, the centre of a circle is not on the circle itself.

### In the corpora

- [The answer is worked out on huge computers far away, in buildings called data centres; nobody is typing it.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/ai/2-guessing-the-next-word/5/)
- [Chatbots run on giant computers in data centres; the words appearing one by one is just how the answer is shown.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/ai/2-guessing-the-next-word/16/)
- [Running chatbots in data centres uses a lot of electricity, and cooling the computers often uses water.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/ai/3-sounding-right-and-being-right/13/)
- [Rescue centres care for animals that are lost or given up, and these animals need new homes.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/225-caring-for-a-pet-needs-dangers-and-responsibility/5/)
- [Older animals often wait the longest at rescue centres, though they are usually calm, trained and happy with a quiet life.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/328-old-pets-grey-muzzles-slow-walks-and-saying-goodbye/19/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «centre» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/centre/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.