- Also called: epicentrum the point on the earth's surface directly above the focus of an earthquake or underground nuclear explosion
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WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
ep•i•cen•ter /ˈɛpəˌsɛntɚ/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Geologya point, directly above the true center of an earthquake, from which its shock waves appear to spread.
- a point of focus, as of activity;
center.
ep•i•cen•ter
(ep′ə sen′tər),USA pronunciation n.
ep′i•cen′tral, adj.
- GeologyAlso epicentrum. a point, directly above the true center of disturbance, from which the shock waves of an earthquake apparently radiate.
- a focal point, as of activity:Manhattan's Chinatown is the epicenter of the city's Chinese community.
- Greek epíkentros on the center. See epi-, center
- Neo-Latin epicentrum
- 1885–90
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
epicentre, US epicenter /ˈɛpɪˌsɛntə/ n
'epicenter' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):