or nexus
ˈnek-səs
Did you know?
If you’re unfamiliar with the word nexus, the popular, long-running video game series The Legend of Zelda may provide an object lesson in its several definitions (and if you’re unfamiliar with the games, we will explain). When nexus came into English in the 17th century, it meant “connection” or “link.” Eventually, people began using it to refer to a connected group or series of things, as in “a nexus of relationships.” In recent decades it has taken on a third meaning: “center” or “hub,” perhaps from the notion that a point in the center of an arrangement serves to join together the objects that surround it. Now, one might plausibly say that the 20 Zelda games (not counting remakes and spin-offs) themselves form a nexus, as each represents an installment in a long, twisty saga with numerous echoes and callbacks to other games in the series. Most of these feature the fictional land of Hyrule, which often presents magical nexuses to shadowy alternate dimensions (1991’s A Link to the Past), the past (2011’s Skyward Sword), or the underworld (2023’s Tears of the Kingdom) that the hero, Link (ahem) must traverse. As for nexus’s third meaning, Hyrule’s map is nearly always situated around a central nexus, or hub, in the form of the castle where the titular Zelda lives. (If you’re into gaming or curious about its lingo, don’t miss the article “Popular Gaming Terms Explained”).
Synonyms
Examples of nexus in a Sentence
Shannon L. Bowen, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Feb. 2025
The emergency will be among the first priorities for a national energy council that sits at the nexus of agencies carrying out a flurry of Trump executive orders and rolling back Biden climate regulations.
—Daniel Moore, Axios, 20 Jan. 2025
That community, which begat everything from the Mamas and the Papas and the Byrds/CSNY gaggle to Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and the Jackson Browne/Eagles nexus, has been the subject of multiple books and docs.
—David Browne, Rolling Stone, 22 Dec. 2024
Stephen writes about the nexus of technology, science, policy, and business on and off the planet.
—Stephen Clark, Ars Technica, 1 Feb. 2025
See all Example Sentences for nexus 
Dictionary Entries Near nexus
Cite this Entry
“Nexus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nexus. Accessed 18 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
nexus
noun
or nexus
-səs, -ˌsüs
Legal Definition
nexus
noun
Latin, bond, tie, from nectere to bind
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