stir up
Britishverb
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Mix together the ingredients or parts, as in He stirred up some pancake batter , or Will you stir up the fire? [Mid-1300s]
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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 feud has stirred up a larger conversation on what exactly is worth protecting in Southern California, a region loaded with architectural marvels and Old Hollywood haunts swirling with celebrity legend and gossip.
From Los Angeles Times
The rain has stopped for now, but the air is thick with moisture and salt, as though the rain stirred up the ocean.
From Literature
Briefly, Bailey Zappe, one of his backups, stirred up optimism before fizzling out.
I felt my cheeks flush with embarrassment—it suddenly felt reckless being here with Old Joseph, stirring up the ashes of my family’s past.
From Literature
Another blaze was so intense that it stirred up a localised thunderstorm, fire authorities said.
From Barron's
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.
