Definition of "central" []

• Situated at, in, or near the center: the central states. (adjective)
• Forming the center. (adjective)
• Having dominant or controlling power or influence: the company's central office. (adjective)
• Of basic importance; essential or principal: "Performance, including technological invention and artistic creation, will become central to education at all levels” ( Frederick Turner). (adjective)
• Easily reached from various points: a central location for the new store. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The enormous depth of alluvial soil found in the _bolsones_ or depressions of the Mexican plateau, formed from rock-decay, or of volcanic material accumulated by the great lakes of recent times which covered them in the central part of the great _mesa central_, bear striking evidence to the filling-up process of the past."
• "Too, which criteria matches the term central England?"
• "The moves by Mr. Maliki come after Mr. Allawi's Iraqiya bloc announced over the weekend that it was indefinitely suspending its participation in parliament to protest what it called the "central government's iron fist" in dealing with a bid by Sunni Arab leaders in several provinces to become regions with more powers independent of Baghdad."