- present participle of churn.
churning
Americannoun
-
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:
A now defunct duo of robots were supposed to be churning out pizzas at a Moto Pizza restaurant in Seattle.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
To meet that demand, massive corporate farms also began churning out chicken, lowering the cost of the meat.
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026
During the library’s Centennial Festival in July, the machine had a consistent wait, churning out 255 figures in a single day.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
LONDON—Britain’s new prime minister arrived in Downing Street last week promising stability for a weary nation bewildered after churning through six leaders in seven years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
As a child, Ona’s days were spent near her mother, gradually learning simple household tasks like churning butter, making soap and candles, washing laundry, and preparing food.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
The intensity depends on many factors, including complex churnings in the Earth's core.
From Salon ● Feb. 9, 2023
Bachelder’s reliance on sub-rosa psychological churnings partly reflects his strengths as a novelist: he excels as an analyst of the anxieties that undergird social mores rather than as a dramatist of extravagant scenes.
From The New Yorker ● Mar. 23, 2016
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.
