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

That risked stirring up public dissent and calls for reform. —Time, 20 May 2025

So how are you supposed to decide what to do without stirring up any drama yourself? —Jenna Ryu, SELF, 15 May 2025

This action stirs up sediments and millimeter-scale organisms like brine shrimp and mayfly larvae, and generates miniature tornado-like whorls that spiral upward. —New Atlas, 15 May 2025

Or think of the fuss that was stirred up by Jeremy Allen White’s Calvin Klein billboards and Mescal in his Gladiator II skirt. —José Criales-Unzueta, Vogue, 12 May 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