centripetal force

noun

: the force that is necessary to keep an object moving in a curved path and that is directed inward toward the center of rotation
a string on the end of which a stone is whirled about exerts centripetal force on the stone
compare centrifugal force

Examples of centripetal force in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
If there isn’t a force like that in the play, the centripetal force sends everybody flying. Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 5 Apr. 2024 Notwithstanding his latest setbacks, Putin remains the centripetal force holding the Russian state together. Time, 30 June 2023 The evidence suggests that there are centripetal forces that keep metropolitan areas from continually expanding outward, and that centripetal force is going to remain. Ian Duncan, Washington Post, 2 Dec. 2022 Without any mind-blowing sci-fi level breakthroughs, the only practical way to imitate gravity on a trip to Mars is by spinning the spacecraft and creating a centripetal force. Yuen Yiu, Discover Magazine, 11 Aug. 2021 See all Example Sentences for centripetal force 

Word History

First Known Use

1686, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of centripetal force was in 1686

Dictionary Entries Near centripetal force

Cite this Entry

“Centripetal force.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/centripetal%20force. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

centripetal force

noun
: the force that tends to cause a thing or parts of a thing to go inward toward a center of rotation

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