as in center
a thing or place that is of greatest importance to an activity or interest
during the Vietnam War the university's campus effectively became the area's omphalos for antiwar activity
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of omphalos
While the rest of the world was in its accustomed turmoil, the Press, for which Ireland was the omphalos of the universe, took scant notice.
—
Christine Smallwood, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026
While the temples have crumbled, seeing the omphalos gave me goose bumps, and left me awe-struck over Delphi’s sublime place in history.
—Liz Alderman, New York Times, 9 July 2019
Zeus marked the spot with a stone called the omphalos (navel), to signify the location’s centrality.
—National Geographic, 12 Mar. 2019
Christine Smallwood, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026
While the temples have crumbled, seeing the omphalos gave me goose bumps, and left me awe-struck over Delphi’s sublime place in history.
—Liz Alderman, New York Times, 9 July 2019
Zeus marked the spot with a stone called the omphalos (navel), to signify the location’s centrality.
—National Geographic, 12 Mar. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for omphalos
Noun
-
The Slovenian center set the team's career scoring record last month.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 Apr. 2026
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Flash forward to the present, however, and the data centers that are popping up everywhere are amid the AI boom are most decidedly not being built in the ocean.—
Frank Landymore,
Futurism,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
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After the war started, Rebin said that bombs would not deter him from driving to the capital once more to search for his son.—
Cora Engelbrecht,
New Yorker,
3 Apr. 2026
-
The city manager in Raleigh, the capital and second-largest city in the state, made $323,978, according to the Raleigh News & Observer’s slightly older salary database, which is from 2024.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The tech mecca has slowly begun to emerge from one of the country’s deepest declines in downtown retail, in part through a program that peppered the city with subsidized pop-up shops.—
Roger Vincent,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Mar. 2026
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Each January, that stillness is interrupted by the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting, transforming a quiet alpine town, Davos, into a mecca of power.—
Victoria Bousis,
Rolling Stone,
9 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Diridon Station is now a hub for VTA’s buses and light-rail trains, Caltrain and Amtrak — and one day it may be announced as a stop for BART and high-speed rail.—
Sal Pizarro,
Mercury News,
4 Apr. 2026
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Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!—
Daryl Austin,
USA Today,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Assuming players are retained, TCU will have a nucleus to build around with junior guard Donovyn Hunter, the sophomore Silva and freshman guard Clara Bielefeld.—
Steven Johnson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
31 Mar. 2026
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Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Will Smith are the trio of players that the Dodgers brain trust will believe in for the past, present, and distant future as a nucleus of the ball club.—
Tyler Erzberger,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Hundreds of eyes go wide, taking in the warm sweep of my navel, my hips.—
Danielle Parker,
CBS News,
8 Mar. 2026
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Blood was drawn from his navel to evaluate his oxygen and carbon dioxide levels.—
Steven Levingston,
Vanity Fair,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
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But on the Facebook Just in Time Broadway fan group, which has 7,700 members and seems to be the locus of Groffie fandom, the predominant tone is warm, almost giddy.—
Alexandra Starr,
Vulture,
27 Mar. 2026
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The second floor, where bespoke shirts are made, is the store’s real locus.—
Marisa Meltzer,
Vanity Fair,
24 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Omphalos.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/omphalos. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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