Churn Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

1 : to agitate (milk or cream) in a churn in order to make butter The farmer churns his cream every day. 2a : to stir or agitate violently an old stern- ... Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks JoinMWU MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut churn noun SaveWord \ˈchərn \ pluralchurns Definitionofchurn (Entry1of2) 1 :acontainerinwhichcreamisstirredorshakentomakebutter 2 :aregular,quantifiableprocessorrateofchangethatoccursinabusinessoveraperiodoftimeasexistingcustomersarelostandnewcustomersareadded Thebiggestproblemtheyfaceischurn.Wirelessprovidersloseanaverageofabout30%oftheircustomersayeartocompetitors.—BrianO'Reilly also :asimilarprocessorrateofchangeinvolvinglossandadditionofemployees,companies,etc. Theresultingemploymentchurn—theaveragejobtenureisnowtwoyears,andtoday'stypical32-year-oldhasheldninedifferentjobs—meansmorerisksaswellasmoreopportunitiestodiscovernewpaths.—JamaisCascio churn verb churned;churning;churns Definitionofchurn (Entry2of2) transitiveverb 1 :toagitate(milkorcream)inachurninordertomakebutter Thefarmerchurnshiscreameveryday. 2a :tostiroragitateviolently anoldstern-wheelerchurningthemuddyriverlargerparticlespoundandchurntheMoon'ssurface—E.M.Shoemaker b :tomake(something,suchasfoam)bysodoing 3 ofastockbrokerorbrokerage :tomake(theaccountofaclient)excessivelyactivebyfrequentpurchasesandsalesprimarilyinordertogeneratecommissions unscrupulousbrokersmaychurnanaccount,tradingfrequentlytogeneratehighcommissions—MaryRowland intransitiveverb 1 :toworkachurn(asinmakingbutter) 2a :toproduce,proceedwith,orexperienceviolentmotionoragitation herstomachwaschurningchurninglegs b :toproceedbyorasifbymeansofrotatingmembers(suchaswheelsorpropellers) boatschurningacrosstheharbor Synonyms MoreExampleSentences PhrasesContainingchurn LearnMoreAboutchurn Synonymsforchurn Synonyms:Verb boil,moil,roil,seethe VisittheThesaurusforMore  ExamplesofchurninaSentence Verb Themotorboatschurnedthewater. Thewaterchurnedallaroundus. Thewheelsbegantoslowlychurn. Heshowedthemhowtochurnbutter. RecentExamplesontheWeb:Noun Theconsequencesofthisinfectiouschurnarealreadystartingtoplayout. — KatherineJ.Wu,TheAtlantic,5Oct.2022 Andinvestorsmayseealotmorechurnoverthenextyear. — JeanneSahadi,CNN,29Sep.2022 Theentirestreamingindustryhasbeengrapplingwithsignificantchurnrates,whicharedramaticallyhigherthanwhatthecableTVbusinesshadexperienced. — MegJames,LosAngelesTimes,28Sep.2022 BalogunlaterreturnedtoNewYorktobecometheseniordirectorofmenswearforTomFord’smade-to-measurebusiness,findingabalancebetweenamarqueebrand’schurnandthebespokebusiness’sintimacy. — DemetriusSimms,RobbReport,27Sep.2022 ForDelRosario,theUBlawstudent,thechurnoverDobbshasraisedamultitudeofneeds,electoralandotherwise. — JeanMarbella,BaltimoreSun,9Sep.2022 Forexample,thecompanyhasroughlydoubleditssubscriberbasesince2017,despitehikingpricesfourtimesovertheperiod,withitschurnratesremainingthelowestinthestreamingbusiness. — TrefisTeam,Forbes,18July2022 Thisisespeciallyimportantgiventherecentspikeinchurn. — LauraForman,WSJ,25Aug.2022 Thebiggestculpritinengineeringchurnisdevelopmentteams. — MattiasBergstrom,Forbes,16Aug.2022 RecentExamplesontheWeb:Verb TheblockbusterlistingofsportscarmakerPorscheismovingforwardwithloftyambitions,evenasmarketschurnduetorecessionfearsandalarmoverbiginterestratehikesbycentralbanks. — JuliaHorowitz,CNN,19Sep.2022 KyleWhittinghamhasalwaysthoughtthepreferredtypeofquarterbackisonewhocanchuckitandchurnwithit. — GordonMonson,TheSaltLakeTribune,4Sep.2022 TropicalStormGastonhasapproachedtheAzoresislandsintheAtlanticandTropicalStormHerminecontinuestochurnoffthecoastofAfrica. — RichardTribou,OrlandoSentinel,24Sep.2022 Ian,meanwhile,continuestochurnandgatherstrengthjustsouthofCuba,accordingtothelatestupdatefromtheNationalHurricaneCenter. — EmreKelly,USATODAY,24Sep.2022 Ontheheelsofasummertimerally,marketshavestartedtochurnagain. — JuliaHorowitz,CNN,20Sep.2022 Secondhomesoftenchurntransientoccupantsafterflippingtoshortorlong-termrentals. — DanielleBernabe,Fortune,2Sep.2022 Russiahasshownlittleevidenceofbackingdown,andstatemediacontinuestochurnupsupportforthewar. — WashingtonPost,9May2022 Althoughvirus-fightingantibodiesnaturallydropovertime,memoryBcellskickintoactionandchurnthemoutondemandwhenavirusintrudes. — CarolynY.Johnson,AnchorageDailyNews,23Aug.2022 SeeMore Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'churn.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. PhrasesContainingchurn churnthrough churnout churnthrough churnout FirstKnownUseofchurn Noun beforethe12thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedatsense1Verb 15thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedattransitivesense1 HistoryandEtymologyforchurn Noun MiddleEnglishchirne,cherne,goingbacktoOldEnglishcirm(erroneouslyforcirinorcirn),cyrin,goingbacktoGermanic*kernō,kernōn(whencealsoMiddleDutchkeerne,kerne"butterchurn,"MiddleLowGermankerne,karne,kirne,OldNorsekirna—inkirnuaskr"churnpail"),ofuncertainorigin Verb MiddleEnglishchyrnen,derivativeofchirne,chernechurnentry1 LearnMoreAboutchurn Sharechurn PosttheDefinitionofchurntoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofchurnonTwitter TimeTravelerforchurn Thefirstknownuseofchurnwas beforethe12thcentury Seemorewordsfromthesamecentury DictionaryEntriesNearchurn churm churn churnability SeeMoreNearbyEntries  Statisticsforchurn LastUpdated 9Oct2022 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Churn.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/churn.Accessed19Oct.2022. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MoreDefinitionsforchurn churn noun \ˈchərn \ KidsDefinitionofchurn (Entry1of2) :acontainerinwhichmilkorcreamisstirredorshakeninmakingbutter churn verb KidsDefinitionofchurn (Entry2of2) 1 :tostirorshakeinachurn(asinmakingbutter) 2a :tostirorshakeviolently theboat'spropellerchurningthewater b :toproduce,movewith,orexperienceviolentmotionoragitation herstomachwaschurningchurninglegs churn transitiveverb \ˈchərn\ Legal Definitionofchurn :tomake(theaccountofaclient)excessivelyactivebyfrequentpurchasesandsalesprimarilyinordertogeneratecommissions Note: Churningisaviolationoffederalsecuritieslaws. MorefromMerriam-Websteronchurn Nglish:TranslationofchurnforSpanishSpeakers BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofchurnforArabicSpeakers Britannica.com:Encyclopediaarticleaboutchurn WORDOFTHEDAY writhe SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! TestYourVocabulary TheGreatBritishVocabularyQuiz NamedafterSirRobertPeel,whatareBritishpolicecalled? 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