centrifugal force

noun

: 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

One study hypothesizes that this repetitive arm swinging may create a centrifugal force that pushes fluid into your hands and fingers.1 As the exercise ends and your arms stop swinging, the force dissipates, and your body's blood vessels can gradually move the swelling out of the arms. —Tim Petrie, Dpt, Verywell Health, 8 Oct. 2024

Some of these centrifugal forces have originated in the United States and western European countries themselves. —Alexander Cooley, Foreign Affairs, 9 June 2020

But time has been unkind to these Sienese artists, who are only given a brief mention in Art History 101 courses, where Florentine painters still exert a strong, centrifugal force. —Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 11 Oct. 2024

This acts like a very small rocket thrust, slightly changing the asteroid’s rotation, and can eventually accelerate the spin so much that the centrifugal force overpowers the asteroid’s weak gravity. —Phil Plait, Scientific American, 20 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1698, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

centrifugal force

noun

: the force that tends to cause a thing or parts of a thing to go outward from a center of rotation