bestir

American

[bih-stur] / bɪˈstɜr /

verb (used with object)

bestirred, bestirring

to stir up; rouse to action (often used reflexively).

She bestirred herself at the first light of morning.

bestir British

/ bɪˈstɜː /

verb

(tr) to cause (oneself, or, rarely, another person) to become active; rouse

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of bestir

before 900; Middle English bistiren, Old English bestyrian to heap up. See be-, stir ¹

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

If the United States needs workers and desperate people in flight want to work, as Mr. Thiessen correctly argued, then Congress should bestir itself and reform the legal immigration system.

From Washington Post

Travel across the plains of western Minnesota and you’ll find plenty of people who are bestirred by a new and often dark vision of America.

From Seattle Times

So, forgive me if the sudden rush on vasectomy clinics fails to bestir my gratitude.

From Washington Post

But before Americans bestir themselves to act, they must come to understand that the threat is real and the danger is here.

From Salon

Will they bestir themselves to action, or simply shrug their shoulders and accept what is already happening?

From Salon

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023