dead center meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

dead center

nounalso spelled dead-center

Etymology The sense referring to a piston position was originally a variant of earlier dead-point. The adjective carries two of its senses at once in this construction: both "exact" and "without force imparted". As the piston passes through dead center, there is an instant when it is neither being pushed nor being pulled.

US Synonym of dead point: the position at which a crank is in a direct line with a connecting rod.

US A nonrevolving center in a lathe.

US, Idiomatic The exact center.

Synonyms: bullseye
Derived terms: bottom dead center, top dead center

dead-center

adj

In the exact center

These curves represent approximate insertion conditions for lunar impact trajectories designed to intersect the center of the moon (dead-center hit).1961, NASA Technical Report, page 7:

dead-center

adv

In the exact center.

With a Dragunov, I can hit any target dead-center at a distanceof two hundred meters.2014, Martin DuPont, Beyond Fear: If You Must Think It; You Will Die, page 219:
Think of it this way: There's no musical listening experience quite like sitting dead-center in an acoustically perfect concert hall.2015, Aaron Gustafson, Adaptive Web Design:

1 more example

The snack bar itself had beautiful light-grained Formica counters, and there was a giant popcorn machine placed dead-center as a focal point, like a “Holy Grail” of snacks for all to see.2016, Dennis Hinton, A Skate Odyssey: The Rise and Fall of an American Family:

dead-center

verb

To hit or place in the exact center.

All four of you are assuming that I've dead-centered the target . I thought probably I was right, but since I couldn't find any Eich traces, I expected a lot of argument.1953, Edward Elmer Smith, Second Stage Lensmen, page 161:
At over a hundred knots, Archie slid the Hawk forward and dead-centered the basket with the probe on his first try.2012, M. L. Buchman, I Own the Dawn:

2 more examples

He had looked backward longer than he realized and neatly dead-centered the lone but firm sapling.2016, Thomas W. Kavanagh, The Life of Ten Bears: Comanche Historical Narratives:
Sometimes I'd like to half-brain the old buzzard, but everything he has said so far has dead-centered the beam.2017, E.E. 'Doc' Smith, Children of the Lens:

dead-center

noun

The exact center

Engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences Alternative Alternative form of dead center.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — authors: page histories for dead center and dead-center.