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• beef-up
  beef-up

  noun

  an act or instance of strengthening or reinforcing.
• beef up
  beef up

  Strengthen, reinforce, as in Mary wants us to beef up her part in the play. This phrase relies on an older slang sense of beef as “muscles” or “power.” [Colloquial; late 1800s]

beef-up

American  

[beef-uhp] / ˈbifˌʌp /

noun

1. an act or instance of strengthening or reinforcing.

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beef up Idioms  

1. Strengthen, reinforce, as in Mary wants us to beef up her part in the play. This phrase relies on an older slang sense of beef as “muscles” or “power.” [Colloquial; late 1800s]

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Etymology

Origin of beef-up

Noun use of verb phrase beef up

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

beef-up beef up

RBS may offload an additional 25% stake in Citizens by March 2015 in order to beef-up its balance sheet.

From Forbes ● Sep. 25, 2014

At London's Heathrow Airport, travelers report that the beef-up can add 20 minutes to the already lengthy process of clearing security, while at New York City's Kennedy International Airport, extra police are on duty.

From Time Magazine Archive

Last week Menzies carried the beef-up further, announced the reinstatement of the draft, which had been dropped in 1959.

From Time Magazine Archive

Sony Group has spent billions of dollars on acquisitions in recent years to beef up its entertainment content while relinquishing control of businesses in other areas.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

"As part of that we are looking at what we might do to support and beef up our social media team."

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

If that were really the issue, the government could beef up the corps of asylum officers and strengthen the system.

From Slate ● Jul. 28, 2026

The group is likely to beef up its production quotas by "188,000 barrels a day", said Jorge Leon, analyst at Rystad Energy, similar to recent increases.

From Barron's ● Jun. 7, 2026

“This camp is a wonderful opportunity for you to understand the natural world, learn important survival skills, and beef up your college applications.”

From "Klawde: Evil Alien Warlord Cat" by Johnny Marciano and Emily Chenoweth