What is the difference between centre and center?

The only difference between centre and center is the spelling of the word! One is used in the USA, the other in all the other English-speaking countries. There is no difference in meaning at all.

1. Center : used in the USA.
2. Centre : used in all other varieties of English (including in Canada).

Meaning of centre / center

Noun

1. The point that is equally distant from all sides of something

• The centre of the table.

2. The town or city centre is the geographical or commercial centre or core area of a town or city

• He works in the centre so it takes him a long time to get to work because of the rush-hour traffic.

3. The point / axis around which other things rotate or revolve

• The sun is at the centre of the solar system.

4. A political party that does not have extreme views

• A political party that has neither left-wing or right-wing views.

5. The player who plays in the middle of the team / pitch / court in team games.

• The centre in Volleyball is a defensive specialist.

6. The filling in a chocolate, cake, biscuit or pie

• The creamy centre of a chicken pie is made using lots of butter and double cream.

7. A point, location, area, person or object that is most important for a specific field, activity, interest, situation or condition

• Nashville is at the centre of the country music world.

8. The source of an influence, action or force

• The politician is at the centre of the controversy.

9. A place or group of buildings that serve a specific purpose, or provide a place for a specific activity

• There are yoga lessons in the sports centre every Saturday morning.
• The newest shopping centre in London is Westfield in White City.

Verb

1. To place in the middle

• To centre the text, drag the text box to the middle of the page.

2. Centre around / centre (something) on

To take place in or round a specific place / area

• The tourist industry in Portugal is centred mostly around the Algarve.

3. The focus or basis of something

• The plot of the film was centred around a family who was trying to build a new life for themselves.

4. To gather or come together in a specific location

• The university buildings are centre around the tower.

Centre / Center Collocations

1. Dead centre / very centre (meaning in the exact centre)

• I work in the dead centre of the city.

2. Centre for

• The University is a centre for scientific research.

Centre / Center Synonyms

(Noun)

1. Middle

Less formal way of saying centre (when talking about the central point of an object / physical location), and often less precise than centre. Can also be used to talk about time, to talk about the part between the beginning and the end.

• In the middle of the film / in the middle of the night.

2. Midpoint

The point in the middle of something.

• The midpoint of the circle.

3. Midst

In the middle of / the middle part or point of something. Usually used when talking about a person being in a crowd or group of people.

• He was in their midst.

4. Core

The centre of a sphere

• The core of the earth / of an apple.

5. Equidistant (adjective)

Something precisely in the middle of 2 other points (formal)

• The train station is equidistant from the university and the church.

6. Halfway point

The point that is in the exact middle of 2 other points

• I’ll meet you at the halfway point between the ice cream shop and the supermarket.

7. Heart

At the heart of something: in the middle

• The cathedral is in the heart of the city.

(Verb)

1. Centralize

To bring everything under one authority / in a single place

• The company centralised all their computers in one location.

2. Concentrate

To bring everything together

• The teachers concentrated their efforts to find a solution to the problem of the difficult pupil.

3. Unify

To bring people together under one idea / common goal

• Local business owners unified against the new changes the government were bringing in.

4. Unite

To bring people together

• Groups unite to provide healthcare in the city centre.