churn
English
Etymology
From Middle English cherne, chrine, chyrne, kyrne ( > Scots kirn), from Old English ċyrn, ċyrin, ċirin (“a churn”), from Proto-Germanic *kernǭ (“churn”), of unknown origin. Cognate with West Frisian tsjerne, Dutch karn, Walloon serene, German Karn, Kirne, Danish kjærne, Swedish kärna, Icelandic kirna (“a churn”).
Pronunciation
- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 290: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "UK" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. enPR: chû(r)n, IPA(key): /tʃɜː(ɹ)n/
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Audio (US): (file) - Rhymes: -ɜː(r)n
Verb
churn (third-person singular simple present churns, present participle churning, simple past and past participle churned)
- (transitive) To agitate rapidly and repetitively, or to stir with a rowing or rocking motion; generally applies to liquids, notably cream.
- Now the cream is churned to make butter.
- no-churn ice cream
- (Can we date this quote by Addison and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
- Churned in his teeth, the foamy venom rose.
- (transitive, figuratively) To produce excessive and sometimes undesirable or unproductive activity or motion.
- 2012, John Branch, “Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek”, in New York Times[1]:
- The slope of the terrain, shaped like a funnel, squeezed the growing swell of churning snow into a steep, twisting gorge.
- (intransitive) To move rapidly and repetitively with a rocking motion; to tumble, mix or shake.
- I was so nervous that my stomach was churning.
- (informal, travel, aviation) To repeatedly cancel and rebook a reservation in order to refresh ticket time limits or other fare rule restrictions.
- (US, informal, finance, travel) To continually sign up for new credit cards in order to earn signup bonuses, airline miles, and other benefits.
Derived terms
Translations
agitate rapidly
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figuratively: produce excessive motion
tumble
Noun
churn (countable and uncountable, plural churns)
- A vessel used for churning, especially for producing butter.
- a butter churn
- (telecommunications) The time when a consumer switches his/her service provider.
- (telecommunications) The mass of people who are ready to switch carriers.
- Cyclic activity that achieves nothing.
- 2007, Hari Kunzru, My Revolutions (page 102)
- I wished my brain would shut up and knew that soon I'd have to start tidying, but first I needed to rest, so I tried to quell the pointless churn behind my eyes and kept on trying (in a minute) until Vicky came back home.
- 2007, Hari Kunzru, My Revolutions (page 102)
Derived terms
Translations
vessel for churning
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time when customer switches provider
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people ready to switch carrier
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Further reading
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