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

Daily stressors may stir up deeper internal friction. — Usa Today, USA Today, 26 June 2026

At an event with the Bay Area Book Festival, Namwali and Cathy discuss slant rhymes, slanted grammars, and the slanting light Morrison wields in the passage to describe how a City stirs up beauty, violence, music, and love. — Literary Hub, 25 June 2026

Later on, fan favorite Gio Reyna came on and stirred up the audience with a goal of his own in the 98th minute. — Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 25 June 2026

The word on the street is each stop welcomes more familiar faces from Housewives history to join the celebration, revisit defining moments, and stir up surprises that will have everyone shaking, physically shaking. — Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 24 June 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