stir up
Britishverb
-
Mix together the ingredients or parts, as in He stirred up some pancake batter , or Will you stir up the fire? [Mid-1300s]
-
Rouse to action, incite, provoke, as in He's always stirring up trouble among the campers , or If the strikers aren't careful they'll stir up a riot . [First half of 1500s] Also see stir up a hornets' nest .
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.
The release of the list threatens to stir up existing tensions between the mayor and the city’s elite.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Britain's media watchdog Ofcom said it had written to online service providers about "the increased risk of their platforms being used to stir up hatred, provoke violence and commit other offences under UK law".
From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026
Downing Street has hit out at "people trying to interfere in our democracy and seeking to stir up division", after JD Vance's comments on the murder of Henry Nowak.
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026
Still, a lot can happen before the June 2 primary to stir up the race.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2026
When Oldenburg mischievously reported an exaggerated account of Hooke’s views to Newton, deliberately trying to stir up trouble, he succeeded better than he could have expected.
From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
