What does "stir" mean?
The act or result of stirring (moving around the particles of a liquid etc.)
Stir
/stɜː/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The act or result of stirring (moving around the particles of a liquid etc.)
- Grammar: stir is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: fuss, action, activate, activeness.
- Useful contrasts: still weather, becalming, calm.
- Usage evidence: There's no telling what kind of trouble this proposal might stir up. The result is certainly going to be something to see.
How to use "stir"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "stir" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "stir" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "stir" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "stir" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "stir" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "fuss" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "stir", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The act or result of stirring (moving around the particles of a liquid etc.) countable, uncountable
"Can you give the soup a little stir?"
- 2 Jail; prison. countable, slang, uncountable
"He's going to be spending maybe ten years in stir."
- 3 Acronym of short-term interest rate, often referring to a short-term interest rate future or option. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of
- 4 a rapid active commotion wordnet
- 5 agitation; tumult; bustle; noise or various movements. countable, uncountable
"1668, John Denham, Of Prudence (poem). Why all these words, this clamour, and this stir?"
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 emotional agitation and excitement wordnet
- 7 Public disturbance or commotion; tumultuous disorder; seditious uproar. countable, uncountable
"Being advertised of some stirs raised by his unnatural sons in England."
- 8 a prominent or sensational but short-lived news event wordnet
- 9 Agitation of thoughts; conflicting passions. countable, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To disturb the relative position of the particles (of a liquid or similar) by passing an object through it. transitive
"She stirred the pudding with a spoon."
- 2 mix or add by stirring wordnet
- 3 To disturb the content of (a container) by passing an object through it. transitive
"Would you please stir this pot so that the chocolate doesn't burn?"
- 4 summon into action or bring into existence, often as if by magic wordnet
- 5 To emotionally affect; to touch, to move. transitive
"And what delights can equal those That stir the spirit’s inner deeps, When one that loves but knows not, reaps A truth from one that loves and knows?"
Show 14 more definitions
- 6 stir the feelings, emotions, or peace of wordnet
- 7 To incite to action. transitive
"An Ate, stirring him to bloud and strife […]"
- 8 affect emotionally wordnet
- 9 To bring into debate; to agitate. transitive
"Preserue the rights of thy place, but stirre not questions of Iurisdiction : and rather assume thy right in silence, and de facto, then voice it with claimes, and challenges."
- 10 move very slightly wordnet
- 11 To disturb, to disrupt. obsolete, transitive
"They ſay he is the King of Perſea. But if he dare attempt to ſtir your ſiege, Twere requiſite he ſhould be ten times more, For all fleſh quakes at your magnificence."
- 12 to begin moving wordnet
- 13 To change the place of in any manner; to move. dated, transitive
"[…] notwithstanding the swelling of my Foot, so that I had never yet in five days been able to stir it, but as it was lifted."
- 14 move an implement through wordnet
- 15 To begin to move, especially gently, from a still or unmoving position. intransitive
"And especially if they happen to have any superior character or possessions in this world, they fancy they have a right to talk freely upon everything that stirs or appears[…]"
- 16 stir feelings in wordnet
- 17 Of a feeling or emotion: to rise, begin to be felt. intransitive
"That night he was almost too happy to sleep, and so much love stirred in his little sawdust heart that it almost burst."
- 18 To be in motion; to be active or bustling; to exert or busy oneself. intransitive
"All are not fit with them to stir and toil."
- 19 To rise from sleep or unconsciousness. intransitive
"“Mid-Lent, and the Enemy grins,” remarked Selwyn as he started for church with Nina and the children. Austin, knee-deep in a dozen Sunday supplements, refused to stir; poor little Eileen was now convalescent from grippe, but still unsteady on her legs; her maid had taken the grippe, and now moaned all day: “Mon dieu! Mon dieu! Che fais mourir!”"
Example
"There's no telling what kind of trouble this proposal might stir up. The result is certainly going to be something to see."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "stir"?
Common synonyms include: fuss, action, activate, activeness, activism, activity.
How do you use "stir" in a sentence?
There's no telling what kind of trouble this proposal might stir up. The result is certainly going to be something to see.
How do you pronounce "stir"?
Pronounced /stɜː/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English stiren, sturien, steren, from Old English styrian (“to be in motion, move, agitate, stir, disturb, trouble”), from Proto-Germanic *sturiz (“turmoil, noise, confusion”), related to Proto-West Germanic *staurijan (“to destroy, disturb”). Cognate with Old Norse styrr (“turmoil, noise, confusion”), German stören (“to disturb”), Dutch storen (“to disturb”).
Etymology 2
From Romani stariben (“prison”), nominalisation of (a)star (“seize”), causative of ast (“remain”), probably from Sanskrit आतिष्ठति (ātiṣṭhati, “stand or remain by”), from तिष्ठति (tiṣṭhati, “stand”).