to mix food or liquid by moving a spoon or other tool round and round in it
Please stir the sauce so it doesn’t stick to the bottom.
The recipe says to stir the batter until it’s smooth.
✦ Old English styrian “to move, stir, disturb,” of Germanic origin; related to German stören “disturb.”
the act of mixing a liquid or food by moving something round in it
Give the soup a quick stir before serving.
With one gentle stir, the sugar dissolved.
to move slightly or begin to move after being still
Not a leaf stirred in the calm afternoon air.
The baby stirred slightly and then fell back to sleep.
to cause a strong feeling or reaction in someone
The hero’s speech stirred the crowd to action.
The movie’s ending stirs deep emotions in many viewers.
a state of excitement, anger, or shock in a group of people
The celebrity’s surprise visit caused quite a stir in the town.
News of the merger created a stir among employees.
(informal) prison
He did five years in stir for robbery.
They met while both were inside stir.
✦ Early 20th-century British slang, perhaps from Romani “stardo” meaning imprisoned.
