centrifuge

American

[sen-truh-fyooj] / ˈsɛn trəˌfyudʒ /

noun

an apparatus that rotates at high speed and by centrifugal force separates substances of different densities, as milk and cream.

verb (used with object)

centrifuged, centrifuging

Also to subject to the action of a centrifuge.

centrifuge British

/ ˈsɛntrɪˌfjuːdʒ, ˌsɛntrɪfjʊˈɡeɪʃən /

noun

any of various rotating machines that separate liquids from solids or dispersions of one liquid in another, by the action of centrifugal force
any of various rotating devices for subjecting human beings or animals to varying accelerations for experimental purposes

"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

verb

(tr) to subject to the action of a centrifuge

"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

centrifuge Scientific

/ sĕn′trə-fyo̅o̅j′ /

A machine that separates substances of different densities in a sample by rotating the sample at very high speed, causing the substance to be displaced outward, sometimes through a series of filters or gratings. Denser substances tend to be displaced from the center more than ones that are less dense.

Other Word Forms

centrifugation noun
recentrifuge verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of centrifuge

1795–1805; < French, noun use of centrifuge (adj.) < New Latin centrifugus center-fleeing; centrifugal

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

His administration accelerated a computer attack called Stuxnet designed to destroy Iran’s nuclear program by forcing centrifuges to spin until they self-destructed.

From The Wall Street Journal

That is done by converting it into a gas and spinning it at high speeds in a centrifuge.

From The Wall Street Journal

Another unanticipated threat in Iraq that could have had deadly consequences involved gas centrifuge technology used to make weapons-grade uranium.

From The Wall Street Journal

“But did she like centrifuge you together or something?”

From Literature

But tunneling appears to be increasing at Pickaxe Mountain near Natanz, which Iran in 2020 declared a site for building centrifuges, central to uranium enrichment.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023