centrifuge

American  

[sen-truh-fyooj] / ˈsɛn trəˌfjudʒ /

noun

centrifuges plural

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

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verb (used with object)

centrifuges, present (3rd person singular) centrifuged, past participle, past centrifuging present participle

1. Also to subject to the action of a centrifuge.

centrifuge British  

/ ˈsɛntrɪˌfjuːdʒ, ˌsɛntrɪfjʊˈɡeɪʃən /

noun

1. any of various rotating machines that separate liquids from solids or dispersions of one liquid in another, by the action of centrifugal force

2. any of various rotating devices for subjecting human beings or animals to varying accelerations for experimental purposes

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verb

1. (tr) to subject to the action of a centrifuge

centrifuge Scientific  

/ sĕn′trə-fyo̅o̅j′ /

1. 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.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• centrifugation
  noun
• recentrifuge
  verb (used with object)

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• centrifuges
  plural

Participles

• centrifuging
  present
• centrifuged
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• centrifuge
  simple
• centrifuges
  simple
• have centrifuged
  perfect
• has centrifuged
  perfect
• am centrifuging
  progressive
• are centrifuging
  progressive
• is centrifuging
  progressive
• have been centrifuging
  perfect progressive
• has been centrifuging
  perfect progressive

Past

• centrifuged
  simple
• had centrifuged
  perfect
• was centrifuging
  progressive
• were centrifuging
  progressive
• had been centrifuging
  perfect progressive

Future

• will centrifuge
  simple
• will have centrifuged
  perfect
• will be centrifuging
  progressive
• will have been centrifuging
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of centrifuge

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

Explanation

That ride at the fair that spins you around until you stick to the walls? The device in your washing machine that spins your clothes around quickly to get the water out of them? Those are centrifuges. Centrifuges are used mostly in science. In this application, centrifugal force — the force from spinning that moves things away from the center — separates liquids that have different weights. For example, a centrifuge is used to separate blood cells from plasma cells. When the blood is spun in the centrifuge, the heavier plasma cells separate from the lighter blood cells, and can be collected for other uses.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

centrifuge centrifuges centrifuged centrifuging

By using a specially designed optical centrifuge, the team was able to precisely spin molecules suspended in liquid helium nano-droplets, giving scientists a powerful new tool for exploring these unusual frictionless materials.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 4, 2026

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 ● Feb. 1, 2026

Stephen was then extubated and woken up, and then he rested for an hour before his blood was drained and spun through a centrifuge for six hours to separate out the stem cells.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2025

In future studies, the researchers will examine the effects of using a centrifuge to combat the fluid shift and its effects.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 19, 2024

Geisbert poured some of the milky fluid out of the flask into a test tube and then spun it in a centrifuge machine.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston

It isn’t clear whether U.S. munitions could penetrate deeply enough into the site to destroy the centrifuges if they are buried there.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

“It is plausible that Iran moved centrifuges into the tunnels” in Pickaxe, said David Albright, the institute’s president.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

Traditional optical centrifuges have been used to spin molecules in gases by exposing them to a rotating laser pulse.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 4, 2026

In images carried by North Korean state media, the dictator strolled past rows of metal centrifuges and promised to carry out “larger plans” for the country’s nuclear program.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026

Partly it was to do with the limitations of equipment–there were, for instance, no centrifuges until the second half of the century, severely restricting many kinds of experiments–and partly it was social.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

The DNA was centrifuged at high speeds in an ultracentrifuge.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022

In brief, 1 ml of as-synthesized MFI nanosheet dispersion was mixed with 1 ml of 0.1 M KOH solution and then centrifuged at 10,000 RCF for 30 s in order to remove nanosheet aggregates.

From Nature ● Mar. 14, 2017

That done, they ground them up and centrifuged the result.

From Economist ● Jun. 16, 2016

So, on Monday, Richards received a stem-cell shot, centrifuged from his own bone marrow, into his elbow.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2016

She centrifuged, precipitated, filtered and stained over and over, using every qualitative procedure in the book.

From Mate in Two Moves by Marks, Winston K.

Supaporn worked at a third station, centrifuging bat blood to separate the plasma.

From Science Magazine ● Apr. 13, 2022

Prior to microinjection, the ribonucleoprotein complex was prepared by centrifuging the Cas9 protein for 1 min at 14,000 r.p.m. at 4 °C and transferring the supernatant to a fresh tube containing the sgRNA.

From Nature ● Sep. 19, 2017

Supernatant was removed and DNA was washed in 100 μl ice cold 70% ethanol by mixing and centrifuging for 5 min.

From Nature ● Sep. 19, 2017

Instead of centrifuging out plant proteins, “Why not just eat the vegetables?” asked Marion Nestle, author of “Food Politics” and professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University.

From New York Times ● Aug. 23, 2014

There they separated out 93 by repeating a tedious sequence of heating, evaporating, dissolving, precipitating, and centrifuging over three long days.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik