un churn

noun

a container or machine in which cream or milk is agitated to make butter.

any of various containers or machines similar in shape or action to a butter churn, as a device for mixing beverages.

British. a large milk can.

an act of churning stocks by a stockbroker.

verb (used with object)

to agitate in order to make into butter: to churn cream.

to make (butter) by the agitation of cream.

to shake or agitate with violence or continued motion: The storm churned the sea.

(of a stockbroker) to trade (a customer's securities) excessively in order to earn more in commissions.

00:10

Un churn is always a great word to know.

So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:

a fool or simpleton; ninny.

a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.

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verb (used without object)

to operate a churn.

10.

to move or shake in agitation, as a liquid or any loose matter: The leaves churned along the ground.

11.

(of a stockbroker) to engage in the practice of churning.

Verb phrases

12.

churn out, to produce mechanically, hurriedly, or routinely: He was hired to churn out verses for greeting cards.

Origin:
before 1000; Middle English chirne (noun), Old English cyrne cyr(i)n; cognate with Middle Low German kerne, Old Norse kjarni, kirna

Related forms

churn·a·ble, adjective

churn·a·bil·i·ty, noun

churn·er, noun

un·churn, verb (used with object)

un·churned, adjective

well-churned, adjective

Synonyms
7. whip, toss, convulse.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To un churn

Collins

World English Dictionary

churn (tʃɜːn)

—n
1.	(Brit) a large container for milk
2.	a vessel or machine in which cream or whole milk is vigorously agitated to produce butter
3.	any similar device

—
4.	the number of customers who switch from one supplier to another
5.	a. to stir or agitate (milk or cream) in order to make butter
	b. to make (butter) by this process
6.	(sometimes foll by up) to move or cause to move with agitation: ideas churned in his head
7.	(of a bank, broker, etc) to encourage an investor or policyholder to change investments, endowment policies, etc, to increase commissions at the client's expense
8.	(of a government) to pay benefits to a wide category of people and claw it back by taxation from the well off
9.	to promote the turnover of existing subscribers leasing, and new subscribers joining, a cable television system or mobile phone company

[Old English ciern; related to Old Norse kjarni, Middle Low German kerne churn, German dialect Kern cream]

'churner

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

churn

O.E. cyrin, from P.Gmc. *kernjon, probably akin to cyrnel "kernel," from the grainy appearance of churned cream. Extended verbal senses are from late 17c.

Slang Dictionary

churn definition

tv.
[for a stockbroker] to cause a heavy turnover in the portfolio of an investor. (The broker collects commissions on each transaction.) : I reported my broker for churning my account.

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Matching Quote

"Partir, c'est mourir un peu.
(To leave is to die a little.)"

-unknown author

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