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Definition of centrifugal
1 : proceeding or acting in a direction away from a center or axis centrifugal acceleration of a body
2 : using or acting by centrifugal force a centrifugal pump
3 : efferent centrifugal nerves of the heart
4 : tending away from centralization : separatist centrifugal tendencies in modern society
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Recent Examples of centrifugal from the Web
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Will Ferrell knows how to use the centrifugal force of his personality to hold a movie together.
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Like a spinning lawn sprinkler, propelled by centrifugal forces, the water spirals outward, away from the sprinkler head, siphoning some of the star's angular momentum.
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Inside, most of the physical space is taken up by a disc drive and a centrifugal fan, which integrates liquid cooling in a console for the first time.
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In real life, once Groves decided to kill centrifugal separation in favor of uranium enrichment by gaseous diffusion, Karl became one of the planners for the big gaseous diffusion plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
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Groves chose to pursue gaseous diffusion over an alternate concept—Harold Urey’s centrifugal separation—to enrich uranium up to weapons-grade.
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The floorless coaster-like seats with over-the-shoulder restraints allow riders to dangle their feet and arms as centrifugal force causes the gondolas to rock back and forth.
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From the centrifugal gravity of 2001's Space Station V to the handwave-y hyperspace capabilities of the Millennium Falcon, there is a delicate balance between possible and awesome, likely and ludicrous.
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Europe, the anchor of the trans-Atlantic alliance, is battling centrifugal forces unleashed by Britain’s vote to leave the European Union.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'centrifugal'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
Centrifugal force is what keeps a string with a ball on the end taut when you whirl it around. A centrifuge is a machine that uses centrifugal force. At the end of a washing machine's cycle, it becomes a weak and simple centrifuge as it whirls the water out of your clothes. Centrifuges hundreds of thousands of times as powerful are essential to nuclear technology and drug manufacturing. Part of an astronaut's training occurs in a centrifuge that generates force equal to several times the force of gravity (about like a washing machine) to get them used to the forces they'll encounter in a real space mission.
Origin and Etymology of centrifugal
New Latin centrifugus, from centr- + Latin fugere to flee — more at fugitive
Other Physics Terms
centrifugal
Definition of centrifugal
: a centrifugal machine or a drum in such a machine
First Known Use of centrifugal
1813
Other Mechanical Engineering Terms
CENTRIFUGAL Defined for English Language Learners
centrifugal
playDefinition of centrifugal for English Language Learners
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: moving away from a center : acting in a direction away from a center
Medical Dictionary
Learn More about centrifugal
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Spanish Central: Translation of centrifugal Nglish: Translation of centrifugal for Spanish speakers
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