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

Ice protects fish eggs by suppressing winds and waves that can stir up the sediment, reducing the number of fish that hatch in the spring. —Caitlin Looby, jsonline.com, 12 Dec. 2025

Two decades later, Richard Meier & Partners stirred up a new round of anger with a plan to impale the original building with a white-steel-and-glass stake. —Justin Davidson, Curbed, 3 Dec. 2025

The object is believed to have gone missing Friday night or Saturday morning after stirring up controversy for being part of a collection of holy figures created by artist Victoria-Maria Geyer to have no eyes, noses or mouths. —Brian Niemietz, Mercury News, 2 Dec. 2025

But Warren’s concerns highlight growing criticism that the changes at the SSA could stir up problems for many beneficiaries who rely on the monthly payments to live. —Suzanne Blake, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Dec. 2025

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