churning

Verb

churn (third-person singular simple present churns, present participle churning, simple past and past participle churned)

1. (transitive) To agitate rapidly and repetitively, or to stir with a rowing or rocking motion; generally applies to liquids, notably cream.
   • Now the cream is churned to make butter.
2. (figuratively, transitive) To produce excessive and sometimes undesirable or unproductive activity or motion.
   • The slope of the terrain, shaped like a funnel, squeezed the growing swell of churning snow into a steep, twisting gorge.2012, John Branch, “Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek”, in New York Times
3. (intransitive) To move rapidly and repetitively with a rocking motion; to tumble, mix or shake.
   • I was so nervous that my stomach was churning.

   Synonyms:

   heave

4. To stop using a company's product or service.
   • Subscriptions can be ended or canceled, which is known as churn. If there are no subscriptions, a customer churns when they stop using the product.2020, Carl S. Gold, Fighting Churn with Data, page 5
5. (informal) To repeatedly cancel and rebook a reservation in order to refresh ticket time limits or other fare rule restrictions.
6. (US, informal) To continually sign up for new credit cards in order to earn signup bonuses, airline miles, and other benefits.

See all 15 meanings of churn