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 wind stirs up pollen into the air, keeping counts high, while rain lowers airborne pollen any time of day, affecting allergies. —Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 29 May 2026

Casting actors who are well past college age to play fictional undergraduates is nothing new, but the near-decade between Bright and co-star Belmont Cameli has stirred up fans and even commanded a response from one of the show’s stars. —Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 28 May 2026

Frustrated with her imperfect husband, a tipsy Marge stirs up a trilogy of fantasies of a different Homer. —Joe Otterson, Variety, 28 May 2026

Contentious politics of the death penalty But a ruling in the groups’ favor could also stir up a hornet’s nest of political pushback. —Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 28 May 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