center vs inside

center

noun
  • The middle portion of something; the part well away from the edges. 

  • A player who can go all over the court, except the shooting circles. 

  • One of the two conical steel pins in a lathe, etc., upon which the work is held, and about which it revolves. 

  • The ring in the gambling game two-up in which the spinner operates. 

  • The subgroup (respectively, subring), denoted Z(G), of those elements of a given group (respectively, ring) G that commute with every element of G. 

  • The point in the interior of a circle that is equidistant from all points on the circumference. 

  • The point on a line that is midway between the ends. 

  • The point in the interior of a sphere that is equidistant from all points on the circumference. 

  • A topic that is particularly important in a given context, the element in a subject of cognition, volition or discussion that is perceived as decisive. 

  • A place, especially a building or complex, set aside for some specified function or activity. 

  • The ensemble of moderate or centrist political parties. 

  • A conical recess or indentation in the end of a shaft or other work, to receive the point of a center, on which the work can turn, as in a lathe. 

  • A pass played into the centre of the pitch. 

  • The point in the interior of any figure of any number of dimensions that has as its coordinates the arithmetic mean of the coordinates of all points on the perimeter of the figure (or of all points in the interior for a center of volume). 

  • The venue in which the head of government in a centralized state is situated. 

  • The forward that generally plays between the left wing and right wing and usually takes the faceoffs. 

  • The player, generally the tallest, who plays closest to the basket. 

  • The person who holds the ball at the beginning of each play. 

  • One of the backs operating in a central area of the pitch, either the inside centre or outside centre. 

  • A temporary structure upon which the materials of a vault or arch are supported in position until the work becomes self-supporting. 

adj
  • Of, at, or related to a center. 

verb
  • To give (something) a central basis. 

  • To concentrate on (something), to pay close attention to (something). 

  • To cause (an object) to occupy the center of an area. 

  • To form a recess or indentation for the reception of a center. 

  • To cause (some attribute, such as a mood or voltage) to be adjusted to a value which is midway between the extremes. 

inside

noun
  • The interior or inner part. 

  • The inside scoop; information known only to certain involved people. 

  • The side of a curved road, racetrack etc. that has the shorter arc length; the side of a racetrack nearer the interior of the course or some other point of reference. 

  • The left-hand side of a road if one drives on the left, or right-hand side if one drives on the right. 

  • (in the plural) The interior organs of the body, especially the guts. 

adj
  • Legally married to or related to (e.g. born in wedlock to), and/or residing with, a specified other person (parent, child, or partner); (of a marriage, relationship, etc) existing between two such people. 

  • Toward the batter as it crosses home plate. 

  • At or towards or the left-hand side of the road if one drives on the left, or right-hand side if one drives on the right. 

  • Of or pertaining to the inner surface, limit or boundary. 

  • Nearer to the interior or centre of something. 

  • Originating from, arranged by, or being someone inside an organisation. 

prep
  • Within the interior of something, closest to the center or to a specific point of reference. 

  • Within a period of time. 

adv
  • In or to prison. 

  • Intimately, secretly; without expressing what one is feeling or thinking. 

  • Within or towards the interior of something; within the scope or limits of something (a place), especially a building. 

  • Indoors. 

How often have the words center and inside occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )