CENTRIPETAL FORCE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does centripetal force mean? 

• CENTRIPETAL FORCE (noun)
  The noun CENTRIPETAL FORCE has 1 sense:

1. the inward force on a body moving in a curved path around another body

  Familiarity information: CENTRIPETAL FORCE used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CENTRIPETAL FORCE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The inward force on a body moving in a curved path around another body

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural phenomena

Hypernyms ("centripetal force" is a kind of...):

force ((physics) the influence that produces a change in a physical quantity)

Antonym:

centrifugal force (the outward force on a body moving in a curved path around another body)

 Context examples 

What I think of on this point is, when self is the fixed point the centripetal force is balanced with the centrifugal; when duty, a cause, etc., is the fixed point, the latter force is paramount, and only accident or a series of accidents can balance it.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)