Meaning of Idiom ‘Beef Up’
To beef up something means to increase something, especially to add strength to it; to reinforce something; to add more to something to make it more substantial; to make something more effective; to add more support; to boost something.
In regards to people, to beef up means to become big and muscular or, sometimes, to become fat.
Sentence Examples
“Given the potential for violence, we will have to substantially beef up security for this event.”
“My website host has really beefed up their resources lately. They are really doing a great job.”
“You know, I think we need to beef up the drums more on this track.”
“Lots of guys want to beef up in the gym, but do they really want to end up looking like Dorian Yates or Ronnie Coleman?”
“The studio, under protest, agreed to beef up the budget for the movie.”
“Our staffing needs to be beefed up to meet the summer demands.”
Origin
Beef, in this idiom, comes from an older slang use of beef to mean ‘muscles’ or ‘power.’ It has been used since the late 1800s. 1
- Ammer, Christine. American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013.