stirrer

English

Etymology

From stir +‎ -er.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈstɜːɹə/
• (General American) enPR: stûrʹər, IPA^(key): /ˈstɝɚ/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɜːɹə(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: stir‧rer

Noun

stirrer (plural stirrers)

1. A device used to stir. (Cardinal types include wood or plastic strips (for beverages) and magnetic objects that react to a spinning magnet nearby (for chemistry beakers).

   Hyponyms: champagne stirrer, magnetic stirrer, swizzle stick

   We're out of coffee stirrers again and I'm not using my finger!

2. A person who stirs something.

   The stirrers in the chocolate factory often get chocolate all over their uniforms.

3. (slang) A person who spreads rumours or causes agitation.

   Synonyms: pot stirrer; see also Thesaurus:troublemaker

   Near-synonyms: (vulgar) shit-stirrer, shit disturber, shitmonger

   Why would you say something so hurtful? God, you are such a stirrer!

4. One who stirs or moves about, as after sleep.

   I heard some early stirrers in the kitchen at dawn, but I saw no reason to get up yet.

   • c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii], page 3:

     An early stirrer, by the rood!

Derived terms

• champagne stirrer
• magnetic stirrer
• pot stirrer
• shit-stirrer

Norwegian Bokmål

Verb

stirrer

1. present of stirre