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

Host Kara Robinson Chamberlain, a true crime influencer, kidnapping survivor and former law enforcement officer, investigated the disappearance that sparked widespread attention and stirred up social media. — Curran Rastogi, ABC News, 24 Aug. 2026

Dig a hole in the gravel, taking care not to stir up the soil below. — Teresa Woodard, Midwest Living, 21 Aug. 2026

The incident has also been stirring up concerns that hackers could exploit the leaks to spread malware to gamers. — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 20 Aug. 2026

The music video for the title track, released concurrently, stirred up additional concerns about her physical appearance. — Mya Copeland, Variety, 16 Aug. 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