centrifugal force

noun

Definition of centrifugal force

: the apparent force that is felt by an object moving in a curved path that acts outwardly away from the center of rotation — compare centripetal force

Examples of centrifugal force in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Oh man, the levels of lateral grip and centrifugal force are quite ridiculous, like a gorilla swinging on playground equipment. — Dan Neil, WSJ, "Polestar 1: The World’s Most Beautiful Hybrid Car Has Arrived," 15 Oct. 2020 The Southern Ocean, or Antarctic Ocean as it is sometimes known, has the world’s strongest ocean current, whose centrifugal force forms a biological barrier that prevents it from mixing with other ocean waters. — Nora Mishanec, SFChronicle.com, "Antarctic Program’s flagship icebreaker makes rare appearance in San Francisco at Pier 17," 22 Sep. 2020 Miller captures Graham’s magnetism, a centrifugal force even in his absence. — Heller Mcalpin, The Christian Science Monitor, "‘Monogamy’ reveals conflicted emotions over a long marriage," 17 Sep. 2020 This results in a centrifugal force, which pushes thousands of tiny droplets and aerosol particles into the air. — Claire Gillespie, Health.com, "Is It Safe to Use a Public Restroom During the Pandemic? Not Exactly, According to a New Study," 16 June 2020 When the device is spun, the centrifugal force pushes the sample through a membrane that catches any bacteria from the sample while the liquid filters through to a reservoir. — Cathleen O'grady, Ars Technica, "A fidget spinner to detect urinary tract infections," 25 May 2020 The problem comes in the final parsec, where gravity is not strong enough to overcome the centrifugal force of each black hole’s orbit to pull the pair closer together. — Nola Taylor Redd, Scientific American, "Meet “Spikey,” a Possible Pair of Merging Supermassive Black Holes," 10 Feb. 2020 The centrifugal force threw his foot off the clutch, causing the car to lurch forward and trigger the red light. — Michael Knight, azcentral, "NHRA Pro Stock racer Matt Hartford back for another shot at Arizona Nationals," 19 Feb. 2020 In the first experiment, the primary force acting on the ant raft is centrifugal force, per Ko, while in the second, with the vortex, the raft experiences the shearing force. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "The physics behind how fire ants band together into robust floating “rafts”," 8 Dec. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'centrifugal force.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Dictionary Entries near centrifugal force

centrifugal clutch

centrifugal compressor

Statistics for centrifugal force

Cite this Entry

“Centrifugal force.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/centrifugal%20force. Accessed 2 Mar. 2021.

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