churn

1 of 2

noun

ˈchərn 

plural churns

1

: a container in which cream is stirred or shaken to make butter

2

: a regular, quantifiable process or rate of change that occurs in a business over a period of time as existing customers are lost and new customers are added

The biggest problem they face is churn. Wireless providers lose an average of about 30% of their customers a year to competitors.

—Brian O'Reilly

also : a similar process or rate of change involving loss and addition of employees, companies, etc.

The resulting employment churn—the average job tenure is now two years, and today's typical 32-year-old has held nine different jobs—means more risks as well as more opportunities to discover new paths.

—Jamais Cascio

churn

2 of 2

verb

churned; churning; churns

transitive verb

1

: to agitate (milk or cream) in a churn in order to make butter

The farmer churns his cream every day.

2

a

: to stir or agitate violently

an old stern-wheeler churning the muddy river

larger particles pound and churn the Moon's surface

—E. M. Shoemaker

b

: to make (something, such as foam) by so doing

3

of a stockbroker or brokerage : to make (the account of a client) excessively active by frequent purchases and sales primarily in order to generate commissions

unscrupulous brokers may churn an account, trading frequently to generate high commissions

—Mary Rowland

intransitive verb

1

: to work a churn (as in making butter)

2

a

: to produce, proceed with, or experience violent motion or agitation

her stomach was churning

churning legs

b

: to proceed by or as if by means of rotating members (such as wheels or propellers)

boats churning across the harbor

Synonyms

Verb

• boil
• moil
• roil
• seethe

Examples of churn in a Sentence

Verb

The motorboats churned the water.

The water churned all around us.

The wheels began to slowly churn.

He showed them how to churn butter.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Under this legal order, which lasted until the early twentieth century, powerful states freely resorted to war to enforce their claims, and weaker states were forced to submit or risk annihilation, yielding a near-constant churn of conflict. —Oona A. Hathaway, Foreign Affairs, 24 June 2025

Business Disruption Disregard for set rules can lead to revocation of operating licenses, provoking loss of profit and end-user churn. —Dzmitry Lubneuski, Forbes.com, 23 June 2025

Verb

Weather led to a scrub of the Aug. 3 attempt, but SpaceX was able to launch despite Tropical Storm Debby churning off Florida’s southwest coast. —Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 June 2025

Numerous other boats were damaged that day as the powerful thunderstorm churned up waves and sent boats smashing into each other and the marina, according to KCRA-TV. —Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 23 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English chirne, cherne, going back to Old English cirm (erroneously for cirin or cirn), cyrin, going back to Germanic *kernō, kernōn (whence also Middle Dutch keerne, kerne "butter churn," Middle Low German kerne, karne, kirne, Old Norse kirna —in kirnuaskr "churn pail"), of uncertain origin

Verb

Middle English chyrnen, derivative of chirne, cherne churn entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Phrases Containing churn

• churn out
• churn through

Rhymes for churn

• berne
• burn
• dern
• earn
• erne
• fern
• hern
• hirn
• learn
• morne
• quern
• spurn

Kids Definition

churn

1 of 2 noun

ˈchərn 

: a container in which milk or cream is stirred or shaken in making butter

churn

2 of 2 verb

1

: to stir or shake in a churn (as in making butter)

2

a

: to stir or shake violently

the boat's propeller churning the water

b

: to produce, move with, or experience violent motion or agitation

her stomach was churning

churning legs

Legal Definition

churn

transitive verb

ˈchərn

: to make (the account of a client) excessively active by frequent purchases and sales primarily in order to generate commissions

Note: Churning is a violation of federal securities laws.