churn
churn — 動詞
1. to stir or push a liquid or loose substance around with strong, steady force, so
攪動
用力攪拌液體，使其翻騰混合
to stir or push a liquid or loose substance around with strong, steady force, so that it moves violently and becomes mixed
The storm churned the sea into huge waves that crashed against the harbour wall.
暴風雨攪動海面，掀起巨浪拍打著港口的堤防。
collocation: storm churns the sea
Femi watched the grey water churn as the ferry's engine pushed through the river.
Femi 看著渡輪引擎推進河面時，灰色的河水不停地翻騰。
The machine's blades churned the paint mixture until it was perfectly smooth.
機器的葉片不停地攪動油漆，直到混合物變得完全均勻平滑。
Beneath the surface, strong currents churned the sand into cloudy water.
在水面下，強勁的水流把沙攪起來，使得海水變得混濁。
文法句型
churn + object (liquid)
churn (no object)
churn up + object
用法筆記
Can be used with 'up': the wind churned up the dust from the dry ground. The intransitive form (the water churns) describes water moving on its own, while the transitive form (something churns the water) adds an external cause.
常見錯誤
2. to beat or shake cream or milk in a container over and over until the fat separa
攪拌製奶油
攪拌鮮奶油使脂肪分離，製成奶油
to beat or shake cream or milk in a container over and over until the fat separates and becomes butter
Farmers used to churn cream by hand, a slow and tiring job.
過去農夫必須用手攪拌鮮奶油來製作奶油，既耗時又費力。
collocation: churn cream by hand
The dairy churns fresh milk every morning to make butter for the local market.
這間乳品廠每天早上攪打新鮮牛奶，為當地市場製作奶油。
Hoa learned to churn butter from her grandmother during a summer visit to the farm.
Hoa 在暑假去農場拜訪外婆時，學會了如何攪拌製作奶油。
On Grandfather's 1950s farm, the family churned butter each week using a wooden barrel.
1950 年代時，在爺爺的農場上，他們每週仍然用木桶來攪拌製作奶油。
文法句型
churn + cream/milk
churn + cream/milk + into + butter
用法筆記
This is the oldest historical sense of 'churn' and the origin of the noun. Today, most butter is made in factories, so this sense is mostly used in historical, rural, or traditional cooking contexts.
常見錯誤
3. to feel a strong rolling or squeezing sensation in your stomach, usually from ne
胃部翻騰
因緊張或生病而感到胃部翻攪不適
to feel a strong rolling or squeezing sensation in your stomach, usually from nervousness, fear, or illness
As Jude walked up to the stage to give his speech, his stomach churned.
Jude 走上舞台準備發表演講時，胃部一陣翻騰。
collocation: stomach churns (with nervousness)
When the plane hit rough air, Yan felt her stomach begin to churn.
當飛機遇到一陣亂流時，Yan 覺得自己的胃開始翻攪。
Just looking at the exam paper made Arjun's stomach churn with anxiety.
光是看到考卷，Arjun 的胃就因焦慮而開始翻騰。
The smell of the hospital waiting room made Diya's stomach churn.
醫院候診室的氣味讓 Diya 的胃感到一陣翻滾不適。
- settle
when the stomach stops feeling upset and returns to normal
文法句型
stomach churns
stomach churns with + emotion
用法筆記
The subject is almost always 'stomach.' This sense is often used in the continuous form ('my stomach was churning all morning'). The feeling can come from fear, worry, excitement, or physical sickness — not from literal digestion problems.
常見錯誤
4. to stop buying from one company and start buying from another instead, especiall
流失；轉換
顧客不再使用原公司服務，轉而改用別家
to stop buying from one company and start buying from another instead, especially when many customers do this repeatedly
Mobile phone companies worry when customers churn to a cheaper provider.
電信公司很擔心顧客流失，轉投費率更便宜的業者。
intransitive: customers churn (to competitor)
The streaming service lost a thousand subscribers who churned to a newer platform.
該串流服務損失了一千名訂戶，他們都轉去了更新的平台。
Bilal studied call records to predict which phone-company customers were likely to churn next month.
Bilal 研究通話記錄，來預測哪些電信公司的顧客下個月可能會流失。
Telecom firms that offer poor support often see their customers churn within months.
客服品質不佳的電信公司，往往在幾個月內就會看到顧客大量流失。
- stay
continue as a customer of the same company
- remain loyal
keep using the same service without switching
文法句型
customers churn
churn + to/from + company
用法筆記
Common in business and marketing contexts. Also used as a noun (sense 3: churn rate). Related but distinct from 'churn out' (produce quickly in large quantities), which is a separate phrasal verb not covered in these senses.
常見錯誤
churn — 名詞
1. a traditional container, usually tall and narrow with a handle and a lid, used f
奶油攪拌器
將鮮奶油攪拌成奶油的傳統容器
a traditional container, usually tall and narrow with a handle and a lid, used for turning cream into butter by stirring or shaking it
The old wooden churn in Rosa's kitchen still smelled of cream from years of butter-making.
Rosa 廚房裡的那個老舊木製奶油攪拌器，仍然散發著多年製作奶油留下的乳香。
Tamás bought a wooden churn at the antique market after watching a butter-making video.
Tamás 在看了奶油製作的影片後，在古董市場買了一個木製奶油攪拌器。
You pour the cream into the churn and turn the handle until butter forms.
把鮮奶油倒入攪拌器中，轉動把手直到奶油成形。
In the museum, Heather saw a 19th-century butter churn with a long wooden handle.
Heather 在博物館裡看到一台 19 世紀的奶油攪拌器，有著長長的木柄。
用法筆記
Distinguish from noun sense 2 (milk churn): this container is used for making butter, while a milk churn is used for transporting milk. Butter churns often have a handle or plunger for stirring.
2. a tall metal or plastic container with a lid, used for carrying large amounts of
牛奶桶
運送大量牛奶的帶蓋金屬或塑膠容器
a tall metal or plastic container with a lid, used for carrying large amounts of milk from a farm to a collection point or dairy
The dairy farmer carried two heavy metal churns to the truck before sunrise for pickup.
乳牛農場的農夫在天亮前把兩個沉重的金屬牛奶桶搬上卡車，準備讓人來收取。
collocation: metal churn / milk churn
Before the morning milking, Ilan wiped the churn's inside clean with a damp cloth.
早上擠奶之前，Ilan 用濕布把牛奶桶內部擦拭乾淨。
Each churn held about forty litres of fresh milk from the herd.
每個牛奶桶大約能裝四十公升的鮮奶。
Green Valley Dairy collected the full churns from Patel's farm gate every Tuesday morning.
Green Valley 乳品廠每週二早上都會到 Patel 的農場門口收取裝滿牛奶的桶子。
用法筆記
This sense is more common in British English. In modern farming, milk is usually stored in large refrigerated tanks, so 'milk churn' is now mostly a historical term. Distinguish from noun sense 1: this is a transport container, not a butter-making tool.
常見錯誤
3. the rate at which customers stop using a company's service within a certain peri
流失率
顧客停止使用某公司服務的比率
the rate at which customers stop using a company's service within a certain period, often shown as a percentage
The company reduced its churn by offering loyal customers a discount.
該公司透過給忠實顧客折扣，成功降低了顧客流失率。
collocation: reduce churn
A high churn rate signals that people are unhappy with the service.
流失率高表示顧客對服務品質不滿意。
collocation: churn rate
Christopher's telecom team studied monthly churn data to understand why new users left.
Christopher 在電信公司的團隊研究了每月的客戶流失數據，想了解新用戶為何離開。
The app's churn dropped sharply after the team fixed the login problems.
該應用程式在團隊修復登入問題後，流失率大幅下降。
- attrition rate
more formal; broader term for gradual loss of customers or members over time
- turnover
more commonly used for employees; can also apply to customers but less precisely
- retention rate
the opposite of churn rate; measures how many customers stay
用法筆記
Often used as a modifier ('churn rate,' 'churn data'). The verb sense 4 (customers churn) shares this business meaning. In subscription-based industries like telecom, streaming, and banking, churn is a key performance metric.