beef up
English edit
Etymology edit
Originally college slang, from beef (“muscle-power”).[1]
Pronunciation edit
Audio (AU) (file)
Verb edit
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 edit
Translations edit
to strengthen or reinforce — see strengthen
References edit
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “beef up”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.