Difference Between Center and Centre

There is not much of a difference between center and centre; however, knowing the difference is important to use them correctly in the right place. In fact, it is two different ways of spelling the same word. Therefore people often confuse whether they are using the correct spelling or not. Center is the American way of spelling, whereas Centre is the British way of spelling.

As a matter of fact, both the words are generally used in the sense of ‘core’ or ‘hub’. As for both the words, center and center, they are both used as nouns as well as verbs. There are number of phrases too that employ the word centre such as centre of attention, centre of attraction, centre of excellence, etc.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What Does Center or Centre Mean
3. Similarities Between Center and Centre
4. Side by Side Comparison – Center vs Centre in Tabular Form
5. Summary

What Does Center or Centre Mean?

It is important to know that the word center (centre) refers to the middle of an object or a place. On the other hand, the word centre also refers to the middle of an object or a place. Sometimes, it refers to a certain sporting position. Center or centre is a sporting position in games like football.

Sometimes, even in Great Britain, the word center is occasionally used depending upon the context. For example, the quarterback in the game of football throws the ball to the center. Such usages are only temporary. This is to make the people of the land understand the significance of the word.

The converse is also true. Sometimes, Americans also show the British spelling in some of their establishments just to gain more popularity and importance. For example, one can see many theatre centres in some places in America. This is just to attract more crowds in the place. Thus, we can see that the words center and centre are sometimes interchanged depending upon context too.

Otherwise, the word center is used largely in America, especially in their media. The same spelling is used in the case of towns in the country of America. On the other hand, the word centre is chiefly used in Great Britain and the other countries that follow the British system of spelling like India and Canada. Now, have look at the following sentences.

She went to the city centre with her brother.

Amanda went to the exhibition centre early in the morning.

Now, in both of these examples, the word centre, which is the British word, is used. However, you can replace the word centre in these sentences with center, the American word. Even when you do the change, still the meaning will remain the same, because as we have discussed throughout the article, the two words have the same meaning though they have different spellings.

What are the Similarities Between Center and Centre?

• Center and centre are used in the sense of ‘core’ or ‘hub’.
• Both center or centre refer to the middle of an object or a place.
• Center or centre is also used to refer to a sporting position.
• Depending on the context the Americans use centre as well as the British use center.

What is the Difference Between Center and Centre?

Summary – Center vs Centre

The key difference between center and centre is their spelling; center is the spelling used by Americans while centre is the spelling used by British.