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:
Germany’s Rheinmetall talked of setting up three different factories, including one that its chief executive, Armin Papperger, said would be capable of churning out 400 new tanks a year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Those simulations show that the churning material near the surface can escape unevenly rather than flowing away in a smooth, balanced pattern.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026
Another storm, Super Typhoon Bavi, is churning across the Pacific, on course to hit China's eastern coast later this week, according to forecasts.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
So with a bit of strategic churning — that is, adding and dropping services month to month — you can still catch the best shows while keeping your monthly streaming budget under $50.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
I watched her try to study, my brain churning.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
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.
