What does centrifugation mean?
Centrifugation is the laboratory technique of separating the components of a mixture by spinning it at very high speed. When a sample is rotated rapidly, denser particles are driven outward from the axis of rotation far more strongly than they would settle under ordinary gravity, allowing substances such as blood cells and plasma, cream and milk, or cellular organelles to be pulled apart cleanly. The technique comes in many forms — differential centrifugation separates components stepwise by increasing speed, while density gradient centrifugation suspends them along a gradient medium — and it is indispensable across biochemistry, molecular biology, medicine, and industrial processing such as wastewater treatment and dairy production. Though the name derives from the familiar idea of 'fleeing from the center', the word belongs firmly to formal scientific register: you will encounter it in protocols and research papers rather than casual conversation. It names the process, not the apparatus; the machine that performs it is called a centrifuge.
nounThe process of separating substances of different densities by spinning them at high speed in a centrifuge, so that denser particles move outward from the axis of rotation.
- The technique of separating components of a mixture by spinning it rapidly so that centripetal (centrifugal) force drives denser particles outward.
"The blood sample was separated into plasma and red cells by centrifugation."
"After centrifugation, the supernatant was carefully decanted into a fresh tube."
"Density gradient centrifugation allowed the researchers to isolate the virus particles from the surrounding cellular debris."
Rarely pluralized; the uncountable singular is standard even when referring to repeated runs. The plural appears mainly when contrasting distinct procedures or conditions in scientific writing.
"Successive centrifugations at increasing speeds yielded progressively smaller cellular fractions."
Spin a liquid fast enough and gravity effectively gets thousands of times stronger — which is how labs pull blood apart into layers in minutes without ever touching it.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of centrifugation
Centrifugation derives from the Latin adjective centrifugus, formed from centrum ('center') plus fugere ('to flee'), literally 'fleeing from the center'. The related term centrifugal entered English in the early 18th century, and centrifugation was coined as its process noun once centrifuges became established laboratory instruments in the 19th century. It shares the Latin root fugere with words such as refuge, fugitive, and subterfuge.
Related word forms
How centrifugation is actually used
Strictly technical and scientific in register, appearing almost entirely in laboratory manuals, biochemistry papers, and medical texts. In everyday writing, the machine (centrifuge) is more often mentioned than the process. Note that although the force is popularly called 'centrifugal', physicists describe the separation as driven by centripetal acceleration — but 'centrifugation' remains the universally accepted term for the technique.
Easily confused with centrifugation
A centrifuge is the machine itself, while centrifugation is the process or technique carried out with that machine.