Stimulate a little, it turns out (9)
I believe the answer is:
titillate
'stimulate' is the definition.
(I know that titillate is a more specific form of the action stimulate)
'a little it turns out' is the wordplay.
'turns out' indicates an anagram.
'a'+'little'+'it'='alittleit'
'alittleit' with letters rearranged gives 'TITILLATE'.
(Other definitions for titillate that I've seen before include "Tickle" , "Excite or stimulate pleasantly" , "Arouse mildly (with images)" , "Excite through suggestive means" , "Excite erotically" .)