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.
Still, a lot can happen before the June 2 primary to stir up the race.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026
Some of your friends have likely already achieved this milestone, which can stir up anxiety about where you are in life compared with them.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 25, 2026
When currents spread out, they heat the atmosphere, stir up winds, and create turbulence that can affect satellites traveling through that region.
From Science Daily • Feb. 17, 2026
That a former world champion like Kramnik was able to stir up agreement among some social media and message-board posters isn’t surprising.
From Slate • Nov. 1, 2025
The last attempt to stir up trouble had been put to rest.
From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield
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.
