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nerve center
noun
1
2
: a source of leadership, organization, control, or energy
the financial nerve center of the nation
Synonyms
Examples of nerve center in a Sentence
the economic nerve center of a nation
Wall Street's undisputed status as the nerve center for the world of high finance.
Recent Examples on the Web
After Trump pushed to force TikTok’s sale in 2020, China added recommendation algorithms — the nerve center of TikTok’s video feed — onto its export-control list, mandating that any sale be subject to government approval.
—Eva Dou, Washington Post, 17 Mar. 2024
Long the nerve center for the federal fire service, Boise has become a boomtown, pricing out wildland firefighters, with a median home price of $513,000.
—ProPublica, 16 Mar. 2024
Caltrans outpost affected by storm The storm’s severe winds also knocked out power at Caltrans’ fortified nerve center just west of Donner Pass.
—Daniel Hunt, Sacramento Bee, 2 Mar. 2024
Here, home to low-income elderly people, in one of Miami’s pockets of el exilio, is the nerve center.
—Linda Robertson, Miami Herald, 20 Dec. 2023
The view from California —Several tech leaders argue San Francisco and the Bay Area more broadly remain a thriving nerve center of talent, institutional knowledge and bountiful venture capital, Times writer Hannah Wiley reported.
—Erin B. Logan, Los Angeles Times, 17 Jan. 2024
The Virginia facility is the nerve center for the nation’s air traffic controllers, whose work will intensify as holiday air traffic peaks Wednesday, the busiest day for flights during what’s expected to be the third-busiest Thanksgiving travel period ever, according to AAA.
—Lori Aratani, Washington Post, 21 Nov. 2023
But most of them have some kind of centralized nerve center.
—Rachel Feltman, Popular Science, 22 Nov. 2023
For the past year, Brand’s recording studio in the Oxfordshire countryside has been blessed as an emerging nerve center of the American right, or at least the anti-anti-right, with a procession of presidential candidates beaming in.
—Matt Flegenheimer, New York Times, 13 Nov. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'nerve center.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1868, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near nerve center
Cite this Entry
“Nerve center.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nerve%20center. Accessed 11 May. 2024.
Kids Definition
nerve center
nounMedical Definition
nerve center
noun
: center
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