beef up

English

Etymology

Originally college slang, from beef (“muscle-power”).^[1]

Pronunciation

Audio (General Australian): (file)

Verb

beef up (third-person singular simple present beefs up, present participle beefing up, simple past and past participle beefed up)

(slang, transitive) To strengthen or reinforce; to add substance to. [1941^[1]]
We need to beef up security around the airport.

Related terms

Translations

to strengthen or reinforce — see strengthen

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “beef up”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

[Harper-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “beef up”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

[1]