English Explanatory Dictionary

churn

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To agitate rapidly and repetitively, or to stir with a rowing or rocking motion; generally applies to liquids, notably cream.
  2. To produce excessive and sometimes undesirable or unproductive activity or motion.
  3. To move rapidly and repetitively with a rocking motion; to tumble, mix or shake.
  4. To stop using a company's product or service.
  5. To repeatedly cancel and rebook a reservation in order to refresh ticket time limits or other fare rule restrictions.
  6. To continually sign up for new credit cards in order to earn signup bonuses, airline miles, and other benefits.
  7. To carry out wash sales in order to make the market appear more active than it really is.
  8. To digest.
noun
  1. A vessel used for churning, especially for producing butter.
  2. A milk churn (container for the transportation of milk).
  3. Customer attrition; the phenomenon or rate of customers leaving a company.
  4. The time when a consumer switches his/her service provider.
  5. The mass of people who are ready to switch carriers.
  6. Cyclic activity that achieves nothing.
  7. The last grain cut at harvest; kern.

Pronunciation

/tʃɜːn/ chûrn /t͡ʃɝn/ en-us-churn.ogg

Word forms

churn churns churning churned

Etymology

Noun from Middle English chyrne, cherne, kyrne ( > Scots kirn), from Old English ċyrn, ċyrin, ċirin (“churn”), from Proto-Germanic *kirnijǭ (“churn”); verb from Middle English chyrnen from Old English ċernan, from Proto-Germanic *kirnijaną (“to churn, stir”), of unknown origin. Cognate with West Frisian tsjerne, Dutch karn, Walloon serene, German Karn, Kirne, Norwegian Bokmål kjerne, Danish kærne, Swedish kärna, Icelandic kirna.

Synonyms

heave

Derived words

churnable churnalist churnalize churn and burn churner churningly churn out churn up gut-churning rechurn stomach-churning unchurn unchurned butter churn churn drill churnful churnover churn rate churn-staff churn supper churny milk churn swing churn
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