nerve center
4
4.6
- noun
- /nɜrv ˈsɛntər/
- US
:
centro de control
- The headquarters of the British Forces are in the Central District of Hong Kong, housed in the Prince of Wales Building, which reportedly is also the nerve center of the British intelligence operation in the Far East.
- the nerve center room
- the nerve center office
- the nerve center tech
There there is the vast nerve center of the vast right wing conspiracy.
- There there is the vast nerve center of the vast right wing conspiracy.
- The simple reality is that people do want these features and they have rewarded Tesla making the screen the nerve center of the car.
Examples
-
This is the nerve centre of operations, Janet.
-
Most concentrated on the capital, which was regarded as the country's nerve center.
Academic text (1996) -
It's the nerve center of their operation.
-
So here you are at the nerve center.
Fiction book (1996) -
A nerve center was set up in a hotel suite.
Fiction book (1997) -
After all, a post office is the nerve center of any community, and she knew, usually before others, what went on when the doors were closed and the lights switched off.
Fiction book (1993) -
Sinklar sat at the command station, the nerve center of the Regan Landing Craft.
Fiction book (1992) -
For the past twenty-three years, her job title had been Administrative Assistant, Navajo Department of Public Safety, and she was, in fact, the workaday nerve center of the Window Rock operation.
Fiction book (1993) -
The group, launched as a more traditional media critic, has all but abandoned its monitoring of newspapers and other television networks and is narrowing its focus to Fox and a handful of conservative websites, which its leaders view as political organizations and the "nerve center" of the conservative movement.
Blog text (3) -
The Village is the nerve center for the timing and television operations for the Canadian Grand Prix.
Synonyms
93
3.0
The middle part of a group or formation that is most important
11
3.7
A place where people watch and direct a group's activities
Antonyms
How Central
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase maps a literal biological sense of 'nerve' (part of a nervous system) onto 'center' to create a metaphor for a control hub; learners who know the words can often infer it refers to the main point of control or coordination but must perform a metaphorical transfer. This mapping is not purely compositional (it relies on figurative extension), so it is partially predictable but not fully transparent to a B1 learner without some exposure.
Etymology
Nerve center is used for places too, by copying the body image: if a small group of nerve cells runs the body, a company's nerve center is the central spot that 'sends orders' and information to all parts. That's why it means the place where activities or operations are directed.