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
Miami continues beefing up the trenches Nearly half of the class — 14 of 29 players — are either offensive or defensive linemen.
—
Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 3 Dec. 2025
As a result, the military alliance is beefing up its presence in Eastern Europe.
—Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 1 Dec. 2025
Anderson has beefed up the ranks of Dior brand ambassadors in recent months with eclectic choices including Mikey Madison, Mia Goth and Greta Lee, in addition to Thai actresses Lingling Kwong and Orm Kornnaphat.
—Joelle Diderich, Footwear News, 1 Dec. 2025
Cities across California are beefing up e-bike laws as part of a state pilot program that took effect this year under Assembly Bill 2234, sponsored by Assemblymember Tasha Boerner, D-Encinitas.
—Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for beef up
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 3 Dec. 2025
As a result, the military alliance is beefing up its presence in Eastern Europe.
—Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 1 Dec. 2025
Anderson has beefed up the ranks of Dior brand ambassadors in recent months with eclectic choices including Mikey Madison, Mia Goth and Greta Lee, in addition to Thai actresses Lingling Kwong and Orm Kornnaphat.
—Joelle Diderich, Footwear News, 1 Dec. 2025
Cities across California are beefing up e-bike laws as part of a state pilot program that took effect this year under Assembly Bill 2234, sponsored by Assemblymember Tasha Boerner, D-Encinitas.
—Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Nov. 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 8 Dec. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share