Plain English Meaning
A spinning disc inside the engine that flings air outward to squeeze it. The squeezed air is then fed into the part of the engine where fuel is burned.
Full Definition
A type of compressor used in some turbine engines that accelerates incoming air outward from the center of a spinning impeller, then slows that air in a diffuser to raise its pressure before it enters the combustion section.
Context Anchor
Seen in turbine engine descriptions, especially when comparing compressor types and explaining how air moves through a jet or turboprop engine.
Derivation
Centrifugal comes from the Latin centrum (center) and fugere (to flee). It describes motion away from the center. The compressor works exactly like that — air enters near the middle of a spinning wheel and is thrown outward.