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centrifugal force

noun

  1. an outward force on a body rotating about an axis, assumed equal and opposite to the centripetal force and postulated to account for the phenomena seen by an observer in the rotating body.


centrifugal force

noun

  1. a fictitious force that can be thought of as acting outwards on any body that rotates or moves along a curved path
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


centrifugal force

  1. An effect that seems to cause an object moving in a curve to be pushed away from the curve's center. Centrifugal force is not a true force but is actually the effect of inertia, in that the moving object's natural tendency is to move in a straight line.
  2. See Note at centripetal force


centrifugal force

  1. A force that tends to move objects away from the center in a system undergoing circular motion. Centrifugal force keeps the water in a whirling bucket from spilling or throws a rider in a car against the door when the car goes around a sharp curve. Centrifugal force is actually a form of inertia .


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Word History and Origins

Origin of centrifugal force1

First recorded in 1715–25
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Compare Meanings

How does centrifugal force compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

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Example Sentences

“We’re always falling apart in this country, and now we are in an era of centrifugal forces,” Cantor said.

We feel inertia as something that doesn’t exist — centrifugal force.

More concept than country, Pakistan strained under the centrifugal forces of history, identity and faith.

The spin also creates a centrifugal force that might help lift particles into space.

War can be a centrifugal force, pulling together disparate groups who share a common enemy.

Loose gear was rolling and sliding along underfoot, propelled forward by centrifugal force.

The cylinder walls are oiled by the spray of lubricant thrown off the revolving crank-shaft by centrifugal force.

The sharper the turn, the greater the effect of the centrifugal force, and therefore the steeper should be the "bank."

In society there is both a centripetal and a centrifugal force; the centripetal chiefly human, the centrifugal chiefly Divine.

This is the sense in which the term "force" is employed in the expression "centrifugal force."

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