stir.
To disturb the relative position of the particles (of a liquid or similar) by passing an object through it.
Meaning & usage
To disturb the relative position of the particles (of a liquid or similar) by passing an object through it.
She stirred the pudding with a spoon.
He stirred his coffee so the sugar wouldn't stay at the bottom.
To disturb the content of (a container) by passing an object through it.
Would you please stir this pot so that the chocolate doesn't burn?
To emotionally affect; to touch, to move.
To incite to action.
To bring into debate; to agitate.
To disturb, to disrupt.
To change the place of in any manner; to move.
To begin to move, especially gently, from a still or unmoving position.
Of a feeling or emotion: to rise, begin to be felt.
To be in motion; to be active or bustling; to exert or busy oneself.
To rise from sleep or unconsciousness.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *(s)twerH- Proto-Indo-European *(s)twr̥H-yé-ti? Proto-Germanic *sturjaną Proto-West Germanic *sturjan Old English styrian Middle English stiren English stir 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”).
The act or result of stirring (moving around the particles of a liquid etc.)
Can you give the soup a little stir?
agitation; tumult; bustle; noise or various movements.
Public disturbance or commotion; tumultuous disorder; seditious uproar.
Agitation of thoughts; conflicting passions.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *(s)twerH- Proto-Indo-European *(s)twr̥H-yé-ti? Proto-Germanic *sturjaną Proto-West Germanic *sturjan Old English styrian Middle English stiren English stir 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”).
Jail; prison.
He's going to be spending maybe ten years in stir.
Where this word comes from
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”).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.