stir up

verb

stirred up; stirring up; stirs up

transitive verb

1

: to cause (someone) to feel a strong emotion and a desire to do something

The speech stirred up the crowd.

2

: to cause (something) to move up into and through the air or water

The workers stirred up a lot of dust.

3

: to disturb the quiet of : agitate

a bear stirring up the bees

4

: to cause (something, usually something bad or unpleasant) to happen

They're trying to stir up trouble.

But, of course, there's a reason politicians generally try to communicate deliberately: It helps them avoid saying things that might offend voters or stir up controversy.

—Philip Bump

I'm not a rebel, trying to stir things up just to be provocative.

—Norma Klein

… the incident stirred up a hornet's nest of protest and indignation.

—Robert T. Martinott

Examples of stir up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Others said the campaign had a darker side and stirred up fear of newcomers. — ABC News, 16 Sep. 2026

Ready or not, award season is upon us again, starting with the 2026 Emmy Awards—and with it, the red carpet looks that often stir up more chatter than the trophies. — Marci Robin, Allure, 14 Sep. 2026

After the northern lights put on a dazzling show over North Dakota, Canada and Iceland earlier this week, the solar eruptions expected to stir up Wednesday night’s sky have been delayed or possibly missed Earth altogether. — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 9 Sep. 2026

Tuck said nearby construction on Interstate 41 near 100th Street and Lincoln Avenue had stirred up large rats from the sewer. — Kelli Arseneau, jsonline.com, 9 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for stir up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup