churn away

[dichelson]

Hello: in the following sentence I can't understand the meaning of "churning away":

"The rest of his wardrobe was presently in the washing machine churning away in the enclosed back porch".

Thank you for your help.

 

[Pidginboy]

Washing machine is working now with the laundry.

 

[Joelline]

In your example, "churning" describes the action of the washing machine: the clothes are being agitated in the water. Here, the word "away" is simply an mild intensifier to underscore the continuing motion.

 

[dichelson]

Thanks a lot!