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 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

Today, the studio tooted a horn that their library cleared close to a $1 billion in revenue over the trailing 12-month period thanks to the theatrical release of Ballerina stirring up interest in the John Wick franchise. —Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 7 Aug. 2025

This moon is stirring up your inner world, dreams, instincts and even a bit of nostalgia. —Valerie Mesa, People.com, 1 Aug. 2025

The Leo full moon also stirs up themes of home and family for you on the 12th, pushing you to reevaluate what security truly means to you. —Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 Aug. 2025

Wristbands: $85-105. 2002: Celebrity Courtney Love stirs up trouble during a series of sensational interviews. —Michael Barnes, Austin American Statesman, 23 July 2025

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