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churn

/tʃɜːrn/  ·  say it: CHURN

the rate at which customers stop using a service

In Business & Marketing

In more detail

1. (verb) to stir or agitate a liquid vigorously, especially to make butter from cream

2. (verb) to move in a violent, turbulent way

3. (verb) to produce something continuously, often in large quantities

4. (noun) a container or machine used for making butter by stirring cream

Examples

• 1. She churned the cream for hours until it became butter.
• 2. The boat's propeller churned the water as it moved through the waves.
• 3. The factory churns out thousands of products every day.

How to use churn

Churn has literal use in dairy production (stirring cream into butter) but is more commonly used metaphorically in modern English, especially in business contexts to describe rapid turnover of customers or employees. The phrasal verb 'churn out' means to produce something in large quantities, often with implied lack of care for quality. It can also describe violent, turbulent movement of liquids or substances.

Common phrases

• churn out
• churn butter
• churn up
• customer churn
• high churn rate

Synonyms

stir · agitate · roil · chafe · produce

Opposites

calm · still

Word family

churning · churned

A common mistake

Learners sometimes confuse 'churn out' (produce continuously) with 'turn out' (complete or happen to be), or fail to recognize that 'churn' in business contexts (customer churn, staff churn) is a noun referring to the rate of loss or turnover, not a verb.

Nearby in Business & Marketing

acquisition, benchmark, branding, conversion, demographics, differentiation

Keep going

How to remember the words you read · Spaced repetition, explained