stoke /stəʊk $ stoʊk/ (also stoke up) verb [transitive]
[Date: 1600-1700; Language: Dutch; Origin: stoken]

1. to add more coal or wood to a fire:
I stoked the furnace for the night.

2. to cause something to increase:
Rising oil prices stoked inflation.
stoke fear/anger/envy etc
The scandal has stoked public outrage.
stoke up phrasal verb

1. stoke something ↔ up to add more coal or wood to a fire:
We kept the fire stoked up high on cold nights.

2. stoke up something if something stokes up fear, anger etc, it makes a lot of people feel frightened etc:
The leaflets stoked up fears of an invasion.

3. stoke up on/with something to eat a lot of food, for example because you will not eat again for a long time:
We stoked up on hot soup before going out in the snow.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲