centrifugal forcen. The apparent force, equal and opposite to the centripetal force, drawing a rotating body away from the center of rotation, caused by the inertia of the body. American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.centrifugal force n (General Physics) a fictitious force that can be thought of as acting outwards on any body that rotates or moves along a curved path Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014centrif?ugal force? n. the force, equal and opposite to the centripetal force, experienced by a body moving along a curved path and appearing to propel the body outward. [1715?25] Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.cen·trif·u·gal force (s?n-tr?f?y?-g?l) The apparent force that seems to cause a body turning around a center to move away from the center. Centrifugal force is not a true force but is actually an example of inertia. See Note at centripetal force.The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.