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

And also, as expected, Biles was a 4-foot-8 centripetal force that moved the entire room with every step. —Brendan Quinn, The Athletic, 30 July 2024

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

Word History

First Known Use

1686, in the meaning defined above

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