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 Biden reelection campaign is also beefing up its digital operation. Makena Kelly, WIRED, 7 Mar. 2024 These extra hours beef up their earnings but wreak havoc on their schedules. Heller McAlpin, The Christian Science Monitor, 5 Mar. 2024 Image: Ikea In the meantime, Ikea has been beefing up its smart home in other ways. Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, The Verge, 4 Mar. 2024 That beefed up her $1 million gift in 2007, making her the museum’s largest donation to date. Natasha Gural, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 Broward County has already beefed up security by enforcing higher parking fees, setting up license plate readers and security cameras, and coordinating local and county law enforcement to establish a highly visible presence. Chris Eberhart, Fox News, 29 Feb. 2024 The Biden-Harris campaign recently beefed up its staff in the state. Lawrence Andrea, Journal Sentinel, 29 Feb. 2024 Gallegos is a smart mind in the secondary and eager playmaker, but will likely need to beef up his frame. Luca Evans, Orange County Register, 25 Feb. 2024 Part of the government’s plan now includes beefing up security. Catherine Porter, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'beef up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Dictionary Entries Near beef up

Cite this Entry

“Beef up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beef%20up. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on beef up

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!