beef up
phrasal verb
beefed up; beefing up; beefs up
informal
: to add weight, strength, or power to (something)
Security around the city will be beefed up during the event.
a politician looking to beef his image up
Examples of beef up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The museum has recently beefed up its provenance team after a 2023 ProPublica inquiry revealed issues with its collecting practices.
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News Desk, Artforum, 4 Aug. 2025
Regardless of their present and future roles, the Yankees are confident that their newcomers will beef up a battered bullpen that entered Thursday’s win over the Rays with a 4.89 ERA since June 1.
—Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 1 Aug. 2025
The Mets also beefed up their bullpen with two moves yesterday, acquiring closer Ryan Helsley from the Cardinals and Tyler Rogers from the Giants, shipping out a total of six players — including RHP José Buttó, who has a career 3.45 ERA in 74 games with the Mets.
—Levi Weaver, New York Times, 31 July 2025
The New York Yankees beefed up an already strong bullpen by grabbing the best remaining option on the reliever market in David Bednar from the Pittsburgh Pirates, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN.
—Hunter Mulholland, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for beef up
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News Desk, Artforum, 4 Aug. 2025
Regardless of their present and future roles, the Yankees are confident that their newcomers will beef up a battered bullpen that entered Thursday’s win over the Rays with a 4.89 ERA since June 1.
—Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 1 Aug. 2025
The Mets also beefed up their bullpen with two moves yesterday, acquiring closer Ryan Helsley from the Cardinals and Tyler Rogers from the Giants, shipping out a total of six players — including RHP José Buttó, who has a career 3.45 ERA in 74 games with the Mets.
—Levi Weaver, New York Times, 31 July 2025
The New York Yankees beefed up an already strong bullpen by grabbing the best remaining option on the reliever market in David Bednar from the Pittsburgh Pirates, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN.
—Hunter Mulholland, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for beef up
Cite this Entry
“Beef up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beef%20up. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
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