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Stir-crazy originated as a word to describe a prisoner who became distraught after prolonged confinement. Stir is a 19th-century slang word for "prison" that some word historians have suspected to be from Romani stariben, of the same meaning. But a convincing argument of that origin has yet been made. Today, stir-crazy describes any person who has become restless, agitated, or anxious from being or feeling entrapped in some place.
Examples of stir-crazy in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
By 2021, when Americans, stir-crazy from quarantine, were desperate to escape the claustrophobic reality of their own homes for the dream of someone else’s, that number had risen to 10.2 billion.
—
Alexandra Schwartz, New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2025
However, some of you may be feeling a bit more anxious and stir-crazy, or handling mental health or secret conflicts behind the curtain.
—Kyle Thomas, People.com, 29 June 2025
Yet, despite the need to burrow, New Yorkers tend to get a little stir-crazy when holed up in our apartments for longer than a day.
—Ariel Okin, Vogue, 22 Jan. 2025
They were stir-crazy and impatient for the dance floor.
—Lucy McKeon, New York Times, 3 June 2024
At first, Drew set out to remix Todd Phillips’s Joker as a stir-crazy lockdown goof and a spoof.
—Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 12 Apr. 2024
That was one wet winter and most of us — including our dogs — were starting to go pretty stir-crazy with all the rain.
—Lisa Bloch, The Mercury News, 19 Mar. 2024
In 2021 and 2022, American consumers, stir-crazy from covid-19 lockdowns and armed with government relief checks, went on a spending spree, ordering furniture, sports equipment and other goods.
—Paul Wiseman and Mae Anderson The Associated Press, arkansasonline.com, 30 Jan. 2024
In 2021 and 2022, American consumers, stir-crazy from COVID-19 lockdowns and armed with government relief checks, went on a spending spree.
—Paul Wiseman and Mae Anderson, The Christian Science Monitor, 30 Jan. 2024
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Alexandra Schwartz, New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2025
However, some of you may be feeling a bit more anxious and stir-crazy, or handling mental health or secret conflicts behind the curtain.
—Kyle Thomas, People.com, 29 June 2025
Yet, despite the need to burrow, New Yorkers tend to get a little stir-crazy when holed up in our apartments for longer than a day.
—Ariel Okin, Vogue, 22 Jan. 2025
They were stir-crazy and impatient for the dance floor.
—Lucy McKeon, New York Times, 3 June 2024
At first, Drew set out to remix Todd Phillips’s Joker as a stir-crazy lockdown goof and a spoof.
—Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 12 Apr. 2024
That was one wet winter and most of us — including our dogs — were starting to go pretty stir-crazy with all the rain.
—Lisa Bloch, The Mercury News, 19 Mar. 2024
In 2021 and 2022, American consumers, stir-crazy from covid-19 lockdowns and armed with government relief checks, went on a spending spree, ordering furniture, sports equipment and other goods.
—Paul Wiseman and Mae Anderson The Associated Press, arkansasonline.com, 30 Jan. 2024
In 2021 and 2022, American consumers, stir-crazy from COVID-19 lockdowns and armed with government relief checks, went on a spending spree.
—Paul Wiseman and Mae Anderson, The Christian Science Monitor, 30 Jan. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Stir-crazy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stir-crazy. Accessed 10 Nov. 2025.
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