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

The music video for the title track, released concurrently, stirred up additional concerns about her physical appearance. — Mya Copeland, Variety, 16 Aug. 2026

While an entire neighborhood (or more) is threatened with extinction-by-dinosaur, the fate of Starbuck (real-life dogs Buzz and Brisket share the role), featured prominently in the movie’s trailer, seems to have stirred up the most internet agita. — Greg Evans, Deadline, 15 Aug. 2026

Numerous studies have shown that Covid-19 vaccines are safe during pregnancy, but Republican senators have recently stirred up false and misleading claims that are now spreading on social media. — Deidre McPhillips, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2026

But the moon's low gravity — around 17% that of Earth — means the dust that an impact stirs up travels a long way and takes a long time to settle, McDowell said. — Tereza Pultarova, Space.com, 14 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