beef up
beef up
To increase something, often in strength. With all these protestors here, we definitely need to beef up security. My boyfriend has been going to the gym every day for months in hopes of beefing up his frame. We need to beef up our services in order to rival our competitors' more comprehensive offerings.
See also: beef, up
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
beef something up
to add strength or substance to something. Let's beef this music up with a little more on the drums. They beefed up the offer with another thousand dollars.
See also: beef, up
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
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]
See also: beef, up
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
beef up
v.
1. To cause someone or something to become bigger, stronger, or bulkier: You should beef up your travel report with more descriptions of what you saw. The soup tastes good, but we could beef it up by adding some spices.
2. To become bigger, stronger, or bulkier: The actor beefed up over a couple of months so that he could play the part of a boxer.
See also: beef, up
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
beef something up
tv. to add strength or substance to something. They beefed up the offer with another thousand dollars.
See also: beef, something, up
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
- beef something up
- bring (someone or something) into action
- bring into action
- pelt (someone or something) with (something)
- pelt with
- pelting
- absent (oneself) from
- converge in upon (someone or something)
- converge on
- converge (up)on (someone or something)