- present participle of churn.
churning
American
noun
-
the quantity of butter churned at any one time
-
the act, process, or effect of someone or something that churns
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of churning
First recorded in 1400–50, churning is from the late Middle English word chyrnynge. See churn, -ing 1
Explanation
Use the adjective churning to describe a liquid that's being powerfully moved around. A boat on a churning lake will be tossed around on its surface. A churning sea is the result of a violent storm that blows against the water and produces large waves. You could even describe your churning stomach when you're incredibly nervous about giving a speech or making a presentation. In either case, there's an intense kind of agitation going on. The root of churning is the Old English cyrin, related to cyrnel, or "kernel," which describes the way churned cream looks grainy or gritty.
Vocabulary lists containing churning
Number the Stars
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Boy: Tales of Childhood
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"The Witches" by Roald Dahl, Chapters 1–5
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But as they publicly debated the future of their ancient field, OpenAI’s model kept churning out proofs behind closed doors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
Recent weeks may have been frustrating for investors, with the S&P 500 churning beneath its surface to produce a gain of 2% in the third quarter.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026
Vineyards and groves went churning into the sea.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
Two powerful hurricanes and a strengthening tropical storm on Wednesday were churning through the Pacific Ocean where waters were being warmed by a historically strong El Nino climate episode.
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
He went down again, staying in the murky, churning depths until he was sure the boat had continued on its way.
From "The Boy Who Met a Whale" by Nizrana Farook
The intensity depends on many factors, including complex churnings in the Earth's core.
From Salon ● Feb. 9, 2023
She seems to satisfy, to an extreme and unabashed degree, our romantic belief that the pangs of creative production can be traced directly to private churnings of love and loss.
From The New Yorker ● Jul. 1, 2015
It was an illustration of the many simultaneous churnings that animate India today.
From New York Times ● Dec. 12, 2013
Evensong belies its title by ascending to multiphonic free jazz with hymnal piano churnings beneath.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 25, 2011
His mind was a grayness and there were churnings of pain in his stomach.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
