Library / English Dictionary

CHURN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A vessel in which cream is agitated to separate butterfat from buttermilk

Synonyms:

butter churn; churn

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("churn" is a kind of...):

vessel (an object used as a container (especially for liquids))

Derivation:

churn (stir (cream) vigorously in order to make butter)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Stir (cream) vigorously in order to make butter

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "churn" is one way to...):

stir (move an implement through)

Domain category:

cookery; cooking; preparation (the act of preparing something (as food) by the application of heat)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

churn (a vessel in which cream is agitated to separate butterfat from buttermilk)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Be agitated

Example:

the sea was churning in the storm

Synonyms:

boil; churn; moil; roil

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "churn" is one way to...):

move (move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "churn"):

roll; seethe (boil vigorously)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Sentence example:

The water churns

Credits

 Context examples: 

Johnson I found lying full length on the forecastle head, staring at the troubled churn of the forefoot, and I remembered with horror the suggestion Wolf Larsen had made.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Then, during Juno's 22nd science pass, a new, smaller cyclone churned to life and joined the fray.

(NASA's Juno Navigators Enable Jupiter Cyclone Discovery, NASA)

I don't think I ever ought to call myself 'unlucky Jo' again, when my greatest wish has been so beautifully gratified, said Mrs. Bhaer, taking Teddy's little fist out of the milk pitcher, in which he was rapturously churning.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

His wilful hands and feet began to beat and churn about, spasmodically and feebly.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

The whips snapped, the bells tinkled merrily, the sleds churned along the trail; but Buck knew, and every dog knew, what had taken place behind the belt of river trees.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

Then he fell, and lay where he fell, howling lugubriously as the long train of sleds churned by.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)