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 Cowboys, who beefed up a struggling defense with former Jets star Quinnen Williams on Tuesday, are on a bye this week.
—
Mark Osborne, ABC News, 6 Nov. 2025
Crowell’s version peaked in intensity at the bridge and then dropped in volume by the end; Schwarz beefed up the back end, keeping the energy at peak volume to the very finish.
—Tom Roland, Billboard, 5 Nov. 2025
North Korea also appears to be beefing up efforts to secure nuclear material and is establishing various types of manufacturing facilities for nuclear warheads, according to the intelligence agency.
—Robert Birsel, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025
The club then quickly pivoted to beefing up its run prevention by inking Max Fried to an eight-year contract.
—Chris Kirschner, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for beef up
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Mark Osborne, ABC News, 6 Nov. 2025
Crowell’s version peaked in intensity at the bridge and then dropped in volume by the end; Schwarz beefed up the back end, keeping the energy at peak volume to the very finish.
—Tom Roland, Billboard, 5 Nov. 2025
North Korea also appears to be beefing up efforts to secure nuclear material and is establishing various types of manufacturing facilities for nuclear warheads, according to the intelligence agency.
—Robert Birsel, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025
The club then quickly pivoted to beefing up its run prevention by inking Max Fried to an eight-year contract.
—Chris Kirschner, New York Times, 3 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 10 Nov. 2025.
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