stir up

verb

stirred up; stirring up; stirs up

transitive verb

1

: to cause (someone) to feel a strong emotion and a desire to do something

The speech stirred up the crowd.

2

: to cause (something) to move up into and through the air or water

The workers stirred up a lot of dust.

3

: to cause (something, usually something bad or unpleasant) to happen

They're trying to stir up trouble.

But, of course, there's a reason politicians generally try to communicate deliberately: It helps them avoid saying things that might offend voters or stir up controversy.

—Philip Bump

I'm not a rebel, trying to stir things up just to be provocative.

—Norma Klein

… the incident stirred up a hornet's nest of protest and indignation.

—Robert T. Martinott

Examples of stir up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Moo Deng may have won the hearts of the public, but a large, young penguin in Australia is stirring up some cuteness competition. —Solcyré Burga, TIME, 20 Sep. 2024

The same goes for Venus and Pluto, as both planets will go head-to-head on Sept. 22, stirring up relationship dynamics that need to be addressed while bringing power struggles to the surface. —Valerie Mesa, Peoplemag, 10 Sep. 2024

At the time, Ashley was working in the Sarasota campaign office of Donald Trump and sometimes helped stir up the crowds at his rallies. —Jim Axelrod, CBS News, 8 Sep. 2024

As TVLine reported, Dermot Mulroney has joined Chicago Fire in the series-regular role of Chief Dom Pascal, who replaces the beloved Chief Boden, and the newcomer is already stirring up drama in the below footage. —Vlada Gelman, TVLine, 5 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1