astir

American  

[uh-stur] / əˈstɜr /

adjective

1. moving or stirring, especially with much activity or excitement.

   The field was astir with small animals, birds, and insects.

2. up and about; out of bed.

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astir British  

/ əˈstɜː /

adjective

1. awake and out of bed

2. in motion; on the move

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Etymology

Origin of astir

before 1000; Middle English, Old English; see a- ¹, stir ¹

Explanation

Someone who's astir is awake and moving around. When you check on a sleeping baby, you can describe her as astir if she's up and crawling in her crib. If your family wakes up early in the morning, you can say they're astir before the sun comes up — or your dog might always be the first one astir each day. You can also use the adjective astir to describe an excited kind of movement: "The whole classroom was astir after the news of tomorrow's pizza party." The earlier phrase was on the stir, from the Old English styrian, "to stir, agitate, or incite."

Example Sentences

Animal spirits are astir after several decades of hibernation.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 22, 2026

Shiny skyscrapers loom on the horizon; their squat, worn building, home to their clan since 1902, marks a contrast, nestled within a crowded complex astir with chatter and dust.

From New York Times • Jan. 13, 2023

Aug. 27-30 Harry Styles He charmed the Grammys with a feather boa and a rousing take on “Watermelon Sugar” that left host Trevor Noah feeling a little astir.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2021

And so it should be little surprise that passions are astir, decades later, over the fate of a mural that memorializes many of the neighborhood’s most treasured sons.

From Washington Times • Jun. 1, 2015

No need to cower behind a gate-post, indeed!—to peep up at chamber lattices, fearing life was astir behind them!

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë