From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishstokestoke /stəʊk $ stoʊk/ (also stoke up) verb [transitive] 1 BURNto 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→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
stoke• A few embarrassments are also smoldering, assiduously stoked by the Gramm camp.• It has stoked catastrophic business failures and contributed to increased unemployment.• Since then he has been stoking his fire with fitness and form re-ignited.• We stoke the coals, put on a pot of potatoes, and slap five pork chops on to the grill.• That, and unwanted copies of the Serpell report on Britain's railways was something to stoke the fires with.• Much of the taxpayers' investment has merely stoked up inflation in land prices, effectively closing agriculture to all but the millionaire.• Their employers were quick to stoke up popular envy through the press if players even temporarily forgot their good fortune.• It stokes up the pressure for the two teams' clash in East Anglia on 5 April.Origin stoke (1600-1700) Dutch stoken 