beef up
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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.