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

As curious gas-station patrons wander in to see what’s behind the secret door, he tinkers with smoke and professional-grade whippers and runs cocktail mixtures through a centrifuge to smooth the texture.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 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

He’s a great guy, but do you mind if I say he’s not the quickest bunny in the centrifuge?

From "Feed" by M.T. Anderson

Israeli intelligence believes Iran moved thousands of uranium-enrichment centrifuges into tunnels deep inside Pickaxe Mountain last fall.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

The latter was shortsighted, as the Journal’s report on the transfer of centrifuges to Pickaxe Mountain makes clear.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

The placement of centrifuges at Pickaxe doesn’t necessarily mean Iran is building an enrichment site there.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

After the June 2025 bombings, Tehran may have put its surviving centrifuges there to minimize their risk of destruction.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

Star City contains full-size mock-ups of spacecraft, a hydro-laboratory large enough for a 20-ton space module, special aircraft that simulate weightlessness, two centrifuges, and a planetarium with the capacity to show 9,000 stars.

From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson

The DNA was centrifuged at high speeds in an ultracentrifuge.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022

Before and after that process, the researchers drew blood, biopsied tissues, centrifuged fluids and microscopically searched for vesicles and other molecular changes in the tissues.

From New York Times ● Jul. 21, 2021

After incubation on ice for 5 min, the lysed bacterial solution was centrifuged at 13,000 r.p.m. and 4 °C for 4 min.

From Nature ● May 8, 2018

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

From Economist ● Jun. 16, 2016

The crystals are washed in the centrifuge with about 15-25 cc. of ice water, then with 10-15 cc. of cold petroleum ether, and finally centrifuged till as dry as possible.

From Organic Syntheses by Conant, James Bryant

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

From Science Magazine ● Apr. 13, 2022

The RNA precipitate was pelleted by centrifuging at 4,000 r.p.m. for 10 min at 4 °C. The pellet was rinsed with 1 ml 70% ethanol, air dried, and dissolved in RNase-free water.

From Nature ● Oct. 10, 2017

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

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