beefed (up)

verb

past tense of beef (up)
1
as in strengthened
to increase the ability of (as a muscle) to exert physical force beefed up the walls with iron bars

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in intensified
to make markedly greater in measure or degree will beef up security for the next few days while the president is in town

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for beefed (up)
  1. strengthened
  2. intensified
  3. hardened
  4. heightened
  5. enhanced
  6. deepened
Verb
  • Open-weight models have strengthened the buyer’s bargaining position.
    — Gerui Wang, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026
  • Ironically, a round-tripper that undoubtedly added to his trade value also strengthened the position of a team trying to retain Jeffers, moving the club into a tie for the final American League wild-card spot.
    — Dan Hayes, New York Times, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of strengthened
Verb
  • That has only intensified debate about the direction of the party.
    — Sam Gringlas, NPR, 1 Aug. 2026
  • That increase has already led to more sunny day flooding, intensified rainfalls and hurricanes, reflected in higher and higher insurance premiums.
    — Denise Hruby, Miami Herald, 31 July 2026
Definition of intensified
Verb
  • As speeds increased and night driving became routine, these simple visibility requirements gradually hardened into the more technical headlight regulations that shaped modern automotive lighting design.
    — Matthew MacConnell, ArsTechnica, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Yet the hatred of Dulles—so absolute in its consensus—reminds me of other ways in which our culture has hardened.
    — Adrienne LaFrance, The Atlantic, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of hardened
Verb
  • Investor concerns were also heightened by the strong stock market debut of Chinese memory chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies, some analysts say.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 29 July 2026
  • The sweltering weather heightened worries about the survivors as rescuers braved the heat.
    — Mari Yamaguchi, Los Angeles Times, 29 July 2026
Definition of heightened
Verb
  • For more than a decade now, European and indeed American politicians have known that real, fake, enhanced, or context-free pictures of migrants jumping fences will immediately create a wave reaction.
    — Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, 2 Aug. 2026
  • The passing of 30 years has only enhanced the appeal of the group’s Nashville detour, shifting attention from the incongruity of Ween cutting a country record to the joyous chemistry between these old pros and young punks.
    — Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Pitchfork, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of enhanced
Verb
  • The stock rose more than 1% after the steelmaker deepened a technology partnership with Microsoft.
    — Davis Giangiulio, CNBC, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Albums of new material followed, showing that Askew’s briny voice and cynically whimsical songcraft had only deepened with age.
    — Reed Jackson, SPIN, 31 July 2026
Definition of deepened
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.

Browse Nearby Words

beefed
beefed (up)
beefing
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Cite this Entry

“Beefed (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/beefed%20%28up%29. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.

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