center
/ˈsɛn.tə(ɹ)/
"center" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“center” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #649 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #649
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The point in the interior of a circle that is equidistant from all points on the circumference.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | center |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈsɛn.tə(ɹ)/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #649 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “center” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for center is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈsɛn.tə(ɹ)/. Corpus data places it at rank #649 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 22 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for center, with forms such as "ccenter", "cenetr", and "cennter". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "cents", "conte", "centre", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English center, centre, from Middle French centre, from Latin centrum, from Ancient Greek κέντρον (kéntron), from κεντεῖν (kenteîn, “to prick, goad”). Doublet of centrum. * (group theory): In the notation Z(G), the letter Z derives from the Germ… The correct English form is center, spelled C-E-N-T-E-R.
Definition
- 1The point in the interior of a circle that is equidistant from all points on the circumference.
- 2The point in the interior of a sphere that is equidistant from all points on the circumference.
- 3The middle portion of something; the part well away from the edges.
- 4The middle portion of something; the part well away from the edges.
- 5The point on a line that is midway between the ends.
- 6The point in the interior of any figure of any number of dimensions that has as its coordinates the arithmetic mean of the coordinates of all points on the perimeter of the figure (or of all points in the interior for a center of volume).
- 7A point on a triangle's plane that is in some sense in its middle.
- 8A place, especially a building or complex, set aside for some specified function or activity.
- 9The ensemble of moderate or centrist political parties.
- 10The venue in which the head of government in a centralized state is situated.
- 11A topic that is particularly important in a given context, the element in a subject of cognition, volition or discussion that is perceived as decisive.
- 12A player in the middle of a playing area.
- 13A player in the middle of a playing area.
- 14A player in the middle of a playing area.
- 15A player in the middle of a playing area.
- 16A player in the middle of a playing area.
- 17A player in the middle of a playing area.
- 18A certain mechanical implement functioning in the middle of a whole apparatus
- 19A certain mechanical implement functioning in the middle of a whole apparatus
- 20A certain mechanical implement functioning in the middle of a whole apparatus
- 21A certain mechanical implement functioning in the middle of a whole apparatus
- 22The set of those elements (of a given algebraic structure) that commute with every other element, usually denoted Z(G). In the case of (semi-)groups, it is required that they commute under the (semi-)group operation; in the case of rings and (Lie) algebras, under multiplication (i.e. the bracket for Lie algebras)
Etymology
From Middle English center, centre, from Middle French centre, from Latin centrum, from Ancient Greek κέντρον (kéntron), from κεντεῖν (kenteîn, “to prick, goad”). Doublet of centrum. * (group theory): In the notation Z(G), the letter Z derives from the German Zentrum (“center”).
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ccenter,cenetr,cennter,centerr,centter,cetner,cneter,ecnter
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of center - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “center”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-E-N-T-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈsɛn.tə(ɹ)/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “cents” - see the side-by-side comparison. center vs cents
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.