beef

1 of 2

noun

plural beefs ˈbēfs How to pronounce beef (audio) or beeves ˈbēvz How to pronounce beef (audio)
1
: the flesh of an adult domestic bovine (such as a steer or cow) used as food
2
a
: an ox, cow, or bull in a full-grown or nearly full-grown state
especially : a steer or cow fattened for food
quality Texas beeves
a herd of good beef
b
: a dressed carcass of a beef animal
3
: muscular flesh : brawn
4
plural beefs : complaint

Illustration of beef

Illustration of beef
  • A wholesale cuts
  • 1 shank
  • 2 round with rump and shank cut off
  • 3 rump
  • 4 sirloin
  • 5 short loin
  • 6 flank
  • 7 rib
  • 8 chuck
  • 9 plate
  • 10 brisket
  • 11 shank
  • B retail cuts
  • a heel pot roast
  • b round steak
  • c rump roast
  • d sirloin steak
  • e pinbone steak
  • f short ribs
  • g porterhouse
  • h T-bone
  • i club steak
  • j flank steak
  • k rib roast
  • l blade rib roast
  • m plate
  • n brisket
  • o crosscut shank
  • p arm pot roast
  • q boneless neck
  • r blade roast

beef

2 of 2

verb

beefed; beefing; beefs

transitive verb

: to increase or add substance, strength, or power to
usually used with up
money to beef up its staff of professional economistsJohn Fischer

intransitive verb

: complain
always beefing about something

Examples of beef in a Sentence

Noun I'm not eating as much beef as I used to. My real beef is with the organization's president, not the group itself. Verb She's always beefing about something. he tends to stand around and beef for hours about any slight, real or imagined
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Pungent is not a powerful enough word to accurately grasp the shock that accompanies the beef tuk prahok. Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2024 The soup gained traction in the late aughts, likely when the Campbell’s Soup Co. published a recipe for it that included beef broth. Christina Morales, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Mar. 2024 The law requires traders to trace the origins of a head-spinning variety of products — beef to books, chocolate and charcoal, lipstick and leather. Patricia Cohen Jes Aznar, New York Times, 14 Mar. 2024 Goose was a popular choice in its country of origin, but when immigrants landed in New York in the late 1800s, beef was both more readily available and affordable. Jack Hennessy, Field & Stream, 13 Mar. 2024 Borden said McDonald’s has plans to launch a new pilot program in select markets that will include additional beef items. Francisco Velasquez, Quartz, 13 Mar. 2024 Scores of Muslims have been lynched by Hindu mobs over allegations of eating beef or smuggling cows, an animal considered holy to Hindus. Sheikh Saaliq, The Christian Science Monitor, 12 Mar. 2024 The last quarter of your plate is for protein so that’s your chicken, beef and other meats. Jocelyn Solis-Moreira, CNN, 10 Mar. 2024 Once the ground beef is cooked to medium-rare, add the sauteed onions and meat mixture. Susan Selasky, Detroit Free Press, 9 Mar. 2024
Verb
Stormy Daniels never thought she’d be involved in the world of politics, in loads of legal debt or beefing with a former reality TV host turned president. Marley Malenfant, USA TODAY, 19 Mar. 2024 While some have rolled back wetland protections, others have beefed theirs up. Caitlin Looby, Journal Sentinel, 13 Feb. 2024 One lesson plan provided as part of the program directs students to beef industry resources to help devise a school menu. Matt Reynolds, WIRED, 1 Feb. 2024 Add marinade to beef: Place beef in a baking dish or container. Pati Jinich, Southern Living, 30 Jan. 2024 No, the game's, thankfully, chilled out since then, but fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly, and rappers gotta beef. Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 21 Jan. 2024 But the added pack that beefs it up to 470 miles is expected to cost $16,000 extra, takes up well over a third of the available bed and must be installed by professionals. Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 1 Dec. 2023 Mind you, this is when Perry and Swift were still beefing. Vulture, 24 Sep. 2023 Yankee and Omar had been beefing since reggaeton’s heyday in the 2000s. Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 13 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'beef.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Anglo-French beof, bef ox, beef, from Latin bov-, bos head of cattle — more at cow

Verb

verbal derivative of beef entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1860, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of beef was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near beef

Cite this Entry

“Beef.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beef. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

beef

1 of 2 noun
plural beefs ˈbēfs How to pronounce beef (audio) or beeves ˈbēvz How to pronounce beef (audio)
1
: the flesh of a steer, cow, or bull
2
: a steer, cow, or bull especially when fattened for food
3
plural beefs : complaint sense 1
beeflike
-ˌlīk
adjective

beef

2 of 2 verb
1
: to add weight, strength, or power to
usually used with up
beef up the staff
2

Medical Definition

beef

noun
plural beefs ˈbēfs How to pronounce beef (audio) or beeves ˈbēvz How to pronounce beef (audio)
: the flesh of an adult domestic bovine (as a steer or cow) used as food

More from Merriam-Webster on beef

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