center and centre are homophones: they are pronounced identically and spelled differently, which is why they are so often swapped. center means “an area that is approximately central within some larger region”. centre means “a low-lying region in central France”. center is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/ˈsɛntɚ/
1.n.an area that is approximately central within some larger region
“it is in the center of town”
2.n.the piece of ground in the outfield directly ahead of the catcher
“he hit the ball to deep center”
3.n.a building dedicated to a particular activity
“they were raising money to build a new center for research”
| center | centre | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈsɛntɚ/ | /ˈsɛntɚ/ |
| Said | SEN-tur | SEN-tur |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| Letters | 6 | 6 |
| Parts of speech | noun, verb, adjective | noun, verb |
| Senses | 23 | 11 |
| How common | Core | Common |
| Synonyms | centre, middle, heart | none recorded |
Full entry for center · Full entry for centre · More comparisons
1.n.a low-lying region in central France
2.n.an area that is approximately central within some larger region
“it is in the center of town”
3.n.a point equidistant from the ends of a line or the extremities of a figure