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churn

Pronunciation: /tʃəːn/

Translate churn | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of churn

noun

  • 1a machine for making butter by shaking milk or cream.
  • 2British a large metal container for milk: the fresh creamy milk sat in a churn in the kitchen a milk churn

verb

[with object]
  • 1shake (milk or cream) in a machine in order to produce butter:the cream is ripened before it is churned
  • produce (butter) by churning milk or cream: the women were churning butter and making cheese
  • 2(with reference to liquid) move or cause to move about vigorously: [no object]:the seas churned figurativeher stomach was churning at the thought of the ordeal [with object]:in high winds most of the loch is churned up
  • break up the surface of (an area of ground):the earth had been churned up where vehicles had passed through
  • 3(of a broker) encourage frequent turnover of (investments) in order to generate commission: these brokers churn the client’s portfolio to generate an income for themselves

Phrasal Verbs

churn something out

produce something mechanically and in large quantities:artists continued to churn out uninteresting works

Origin:

Old English cyrin, of Germanic origin; related to Middle Low German kerne and Old Norse kirna

churn in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of churn in the US English dictionary

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