Meanings
nouncentripetal force (countable and uncountable, plural centripetal forces)
plural centripetal forces
- countableuncountablenatural sciencesThe force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation.
A Centripetal force is that by which bodies are drawn or impelled, or any way tend, towards a point as to a centre.
1726, Isaac Newton, translated by Andrew Motte, Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, published 1729
Synonyms & antonyms
nounthe inward force on a body moving in a curved path around another body
Opposite
Broader
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Afrikaans middelpuntsoekende krag
- middelpuntsoekende kragthe force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
Arabic قوة جذب مركزي
- قوة جذب مركزيthe force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
Basque indar zentripetu
- indar zentripetuthe force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
Bengali কেন্দ্রমুখী বল
- কেন্দ্রমুখী বল (kendromukhi bol)the force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
Bulgarian центростремителна сила
- центростремителна сила (centrostremitelna sila)the force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
Catalan força centrípeta
- força centrípetathe force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
Chinese Mandarin 向心力
- 向心力 (xiàngxīnlì)the force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
Czech dostředivá síla
- dostředivá sílathe force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
Danish centripetalkraft
- centripetalkraftthe force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
Dutch middelpuntzoekende kracht
- middelpuntzoekende krachtthe force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
Esperanto centripeta forto
- centripeta fortothe force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
Estonian tsentripetaaljõud
- tsentripetaaljõudthe force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
Finnish keskihakuisvoima, keskihakuvoima
- keskihakuisvoimathe force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
- keskihakuvoimathe force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
- sentripetaalivoimathe force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
French force centripète
- force centripètethe force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
German Zentripetalkraft
- Zentripetalkraftthe force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
Greek κεντρομόλος δύναμη
- κεντρομόλος δύναμη (kentromólos dýnami)the force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
Hindi अभिकेन्द्रीय बल
- अभिकेन्द्रीय बल (abhikendrīya bal)the force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
Hungarian centripetális erő
- centripetális erőthe force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
Icelandic miðsóknarkraftur
- miðsóknarkrafturthe force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
Indonesian gaya sentripetal
- gaya sentripetalthe force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
Irish fórsa láraimsitheach
- fórsa láraimsitheachthe force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
Italian forza centripeta
- forza centripetathe force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
Japanese 求心力, 向心力
- 求心力the force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
- 向心力the force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
Korean 구심력
- 구심력 (gusimnyeok)the force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
Latvian centrtieces spēks
- centrtieces spēksthe force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
Lithuanian įcentrinė jėga
- įcentrinė jėgathe force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
Malay daya memusat
- daya memusatthe force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
Norwegian sentripetalkraft
- sentripetalkraftthe force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
Persian نیروی مرکزگرا
- نیروی مرکزگراthe force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
Polish siła dośrodkowa
- siła dośrodkowathe force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
Portuguese força centrípeta
- força centrípetathe force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
Romanian forță centripetă
- forță centripetăthe force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
Russian центростремительная си́ла
- центростремительная си́ла (centrostremitelʹnaja síla)the force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
Slovak dostredivá sila
- dostredivá silathe force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
Spanish fuerza centrípeta
- fuerza centrípetathe force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
Swedish centripetalkraft
- centripetalkraftthe force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
Tagalog gitisig, tungaing isig
- gitisigthe force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
- tungaing isigthe force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
Turkish merkezcil kuvvet
- merkezcil kuvvetthe force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
Ukrainian доцентрова сила
- доцентрова сила (docentrova syla)the force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
Urdu مرکز مائل قوت
- مرکز مائل قوتthe force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
Welsh grym mewngyrchol
- grym mewngyrcholthe force on a rotating or orbiting body in the direction of the centre of rotation
Cite this entry
APA
centripetal force. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/centripetal%20force
MLA
“centripetal force.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/centripetal%20force. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “centripetal force,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/centripetal%20force.
Source: centripetal force on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.