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), cen·tri·fuged, cen·tri·fug·ing.
- Also centrifugalize. to subject to the action of a centrifuge.
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
verb
- (tr) to subject to the action of a centrifuge
1887, “a centrifuge machine,” originally a machine for separating cream from milk, from French centrifuge, from noun use of adjective meaning “centrifugal” (1801), from Modern Latin centrifugus (see centrifugal).
n.
- An apparatus consisting essentially of a compartment spun about a central axis to separate contained materials of different densities, or to separate colloidal particles suspended in a liquid.
v.
- To rotate something in a centrifuge or to separate, dehydrate, or test by means of this apparatus.
- 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.