bulk up

verb

bulked up; bulking up; bulks up

intransitive verb

: to gain weight especially by becoming more muscular

transitive verb

: to cause to bulk up

Examples of bulk up in a Sentence

she bulked up her hair with one hand as she reached for the shears with the other

Recent Examples on the Web

Significant layoffs by companies in Silicon Valley and San Francisco played a role in the reversal in the rankings, with New York companies in the finance and AI sectors bulking up their staffs. — Dade Hayes, Deadline, 21 Aug. 2026

So, lacking any clear, unambiguous guidance on the future of V2X networks, autonomous-car makers—like Waymo, Tesla, Zoox, and Cruise—have leaned more on self-reliance, bulking up each vehicle with as many sensors and GPUs as possible. — IEEE Spectrum, 20 Aug. 2026

Howe was definitely taken with Steur, even if the former head coach felt the midfielder would need to physically bulk up to consistently run games in the Premier League — and may take up to two seasons to adapt. — Chris Waugh, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026

These include weight cycling – when a person’s weight quickly falls and rises – and dieting pressure, such as recommendations from coaches to lose weight or bulk up. — Erin Harrop, The Conversation, 18 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1979, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Rhymes for bulk up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup