beef

noun

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\ ˈbēf

plural beefs\ ˈbēfs

\ or beeves\ ˈbēvz

Definition of beef

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : the flesh of an adult domestic bovine (such as a steer or cow) used as food

2a : 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

beef

verb

beefed; beefing; beefs

Definition of beef (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

: to increase or add substance, strength, or power to —usually used with upmoney to beef up its staff of professional economists— John Fischer

intransitive verb

: complain always beefing about something

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about beef

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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 The composition of the dietary advisory committees drew controversy earlier this year, because many of the experts had ties to the beef and dairy industries. — Roni Caryn Rabin, BostonGlobe.com, "US diet guidelines sidestep scientific advice to cut sugar and alcohol," 30 Dec. 2020 In a bowl, combine mushroom mixture with beef and parsley. — Andrea Nguyen, WSJ, "50/50 Mushroom-Beef Burgers," 30 Dec. 2020 Fans of the Impossible Burger might enjoy the very close similarity to real beef. — Sunset Magazine, "Our Favorite Veggie Burger Recipes Fully Embrace the Power of Plants," 29 Dec. 2020 All of the Housewives were involved in the drama, but most of it centered around a long-running beef between Samuels and her former friend Candiace Dillard-Bassett. — Ineye Komonibo, refinery29.com, "After A Chaotic Season, RHOP‘s Monique Samuels Is Making Her Exit," 28 Dec. 2020 The shortage was another unforeseen complication of COVID-19 because many meat shops were overwhelmed by local beef and pork orders triggered by springtime shutdowns of large meatpacking plants in the Midwest. — Tony Kennedy, Star Tribune, "When so much else slumped in 2020, nature took off," 26 Dec. 2020 Once notified, people can come to the crash site, gather the roadkill and take home a healthy alternative to beef—which would otherwise rot in a ditch. — Matt Vasilogambros, Anchorage Daily News, "Roadkill moose fed Alaska families for years. Then came COVID-19.," 25 Dec. 2020 The combination of beef and broccoli is a longtime favorite of mine, and this version nails it. — Washington Post, "My 10 favorite Dinner in Minutes recipes of 2020 include étouffée, Instant Pot stew and chicken, chicken, chicken," 23 Dec. 2020 For a bit of zing, simmer a strip of orange peel along with a beef or veal stew. — Nicole Papantoniou, Good Housekeeping, "What Is a Dutch Oven — and How Do You Use It?," 22 Dec. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb The share transfer is basically just moving the stake from one part of the state to another, but the move hinted that the local government might sell the stake to beef up government coffers. — Jacky Wong, WSJ, "Moutai Helps Guizhou Drink Away its Woes—and Debt, Too," 5 Jan. 2021 To beef up medical staffing capacity across the state, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday ecouraged people to join the state’s new Health Corps. — Chronicle Staff, SFChronicle.com, "Coronavirus news from the Bay Area: Dec. 4-9," 10 Dec. 2020 On the web platform, users can upload photos and audio recordings to beef up checklist documentation. — Jessie Williamson, Outside Online, "How eBird Changed Birding Forever," 4 Dec. 2020 Cities have been working with regional, state and federal agencies for decades on various projects to beef up the beaches. — Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Sand retention concepts studied for Oceanside," 27 Oct. 2020 Under pressure from the AFL-CIO and other unions, Oregon regulators are now taking action to beef up workplace safety standards. — oregonlive, "Working in a pandemic: New meaning to “dead-end job”," 8 Oct. 2020 In June, council considered hiring, for the first time in Strongsville, part-time firefighters to beef up the Fire Department staff. — Bob Sandrick, cleveland, "Strongsville takes first step toward placing tax increase for Fire Department on May ballot," 10 Dec. 2020 This has also helped many within the list to beef up their net worth. — Prathamesh Mulye, Quartz India, "Covid-19 put its stamp on the list of India’s richest women in 2020," 9 Dec. 2020 Iran’s Quds Force used its share of the windfall to beef up support for Iraqi Shiite militias, Syria’s Assad, and Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria. — John Bolton, WSJ, "The U.A.E. Needs U.S. Arms to Ward Off Iran," 6 Dec. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'beef.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.