beef up
Make more robust
To beef up is to strengthen, reinforce, or add substance to something: They beefed up security after the break-in, The report needed beefing up before submission.
The image is of adding muscle or bulk—making something more robust or formidable.
Common with abstract nouns: beef up a resume, beef up defenses, beef up the budget.
- bulk outExpand by adding filler
- pack onGain in quantity
- fortifyMake stronger against threat
- reinforceAdd strength to something
- augmentIncrease in size
bolster · muscle · steel · strengthen · brace · solidify · enhance · shore · amplify · intensify · pad · supplement · underpin · flesh out · stabilize · increase · cement · brawn
- build upaccumulate, amass, snowball, escalate, intensify
- strengthenstrengthen, reinforce, fortify, bolster, toughen
- growthgrowth, grow, growing, growth rate, increase
- getting readyget ready, readying, be prepared, equipping, prep time
- intensifyintensify, boost, amplify, escalate, enhance
- improvementget better, improvement, do better, enhance, make progress