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View synonyms for beef-up

beef-up

[ beef-uhp ]

noun

  1. an act or instance of strengthening or reinforcing.


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Word History and Origins

Origin of beef-up1

Noun use of verb phrase beef up

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Idioms and Phrases

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]

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Example Sentences

This is also a show that decided that in order to get better it needed to beef up its female presence.

The administration had been preparing to beef up its list of Russian human rights violators.

After 9/11/2001, good fear prompted us to beef up transportation security.

She appeared in high-school plays and went to NYU to beef up on literature.

For the time being, all they desire is to beef up U.S. military spending and presence in Asia.

They smoked the hams in him, and they sometimes put bacon and dried beef up there.

Cut the beef up into tiny bits; pour boiling water over it and let it stand one minute; pour it off and squeeze the meat dry.

When nearly done, take vegetables out and mash them well, and also cut the beef up fine.

D'ye hear, George, carry that big piece of roast beef up to the Lion.

"I guess that's why they were so anxious to get the beef up to the pasture to-night," said Kit.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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