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
Iraq has beefed up patrols along its border with Syria.
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Arkansas Online, 23 Jan. 2026
The snow was very light and fluffy, and Boston got in a heavy snow band late in the storm that beefed up the final numbers.
—Terry Eliasen, CBS News, 23 Jan. 2026
Topline Major airlines have beefed up their travel alerts as Winter Storm Fern brings frigid temperatures, snow, freezing rain and dangerous wind gusts to an enormous portion of the country spanning from the Rockies to New England.
—Suzanne Rowan Kelleher, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026
The bill also would beef up due diligence to prevent new technology falling into the hands of foreign adversaries and end diversity, equity and inclusion preferences in funds distribution.
—Los Angeles Times, 19 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for beef up
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Arkansas Online, 23 Jan. 2026
The snow was very light and fluffy, and Boston got in a heavy snow band late in the storm that beefed up the final numbers.
—Terry Eliasen, CBS News, 23 Jan. 2026
Topline Major airlines have beefed up their travel alerts as Winter Storm Fern brings frigid temperatures, snow, freezing rain and dangerous wind gusts to an enormous portion of the country spanning from the Rockies to New England.
—Suzanne Rowan Kelleher, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026
The bill also would beef up due diligence to prevent new technology falling into the hands of foreign adversaries and end diversity, equity and inclusion preferences in funds distribution.
—Los Angeles Times, 19 Jan. 2026
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 30 Jan. 2026.
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