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

Jackson and Pearce, who both follow each other on Instagram, have stirred up romance rumors before. —Sam Gillette, People.com, 25 Apr. 2025

In the world of whiskey, few names stir up as much reverence—and market frenzy—as W.L. Weller. —Hudson Lindenberger, Forbes.com, 22 Apr. 2025

What’s more interesting is the question these vampires stir up: Why would any of their prey fight to stay in this harsh and unjust world? —Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2025

This process takes him into a haunted past and stirs up repressed thoughts of their relationship while guided by a Ghost of Christmas Past-like AI host. —Jeff Spry, Space.com, 16 Apr. 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