beef

noun

\ 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 up money to beef up its staff of professional economists— John Fischer

intransitive verb

: complain always beefing about something

Illustration of beef

Noun

beef 2b: 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

In the meaning defined above

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

There’ll be lots of traditional food, including jolloff rice, siskabar (beef or chicken on a stick with or without peppers), and Liberian doughnuts. — Maysoon Khan, BostonGlobe.com, "Lowell Folk Festival is a melting pot of cultures," 18 July 2019 Cooked beef and pork stored two days past use-by date. — Ebony Day, azcentral, "White and yellow slime on orange juice dispenser found in this week's restaurant inspections," 17 July 2019 Listeria fears also impacted 300,000 pounds of ready-to-eat chicken and beef products last October. — Chris Morris, Fortune, "75 Different Hummus and Dips Recalled on Listeria Fears. See the Full List," 17 July 2019 Consider these options as well: rye, roast beef and horseradish; dinner rolls, lump crabmeat and whole-grain mustard; ciabatta, olive oil, jamon and Manchego. — Rebecca White, Dallas News, "The tea sandwich has returned, and it's modern and creative," 16 July 2019 Imports of Canadian beef and canola oil were halted after Meng’s arrest, according to the Times. — Amy Gunia, Time, "Another Canadian Citizen Has Been Arrested in China," 15 July 2019 Cargill is also boosting international sales of beef and poultry, as a hog disease sharply reduces into China’s pork production. — Jacob Bunge, WSJ, "Cargill Profit Drops on Trade, Flooding Challenges," 11 July 2019 The state-of-the-art smoker on the patio turns out medium-rare, lightly smoked slices of beef for the popular Tri-Tip Sandwich ($12) and platter ($10 or $15 with a side dish and garlic bread). — Linda Zavoral, The Mercury News, "First Look: Santa Clara’s The Hut 2.0, now with smoked meats," 11 July 2019 This Ferndale butcher shop is known for pork, beef and lamb products that the owners say are humanely raised. — Susan Selasky, Detroit Free Press, "Don't miss these restaurants at the Free Press' Wine + Food Experience," 11 July 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

As the company beefs up its local engineering hub, the talent pool for skilled software workers grows with it. — Brittany Meiling, San Diego Union-Tribune, "How $52B software giant ServiceNow is seeding San Diego’s startup scene," 3 July 2019 A month later, another study showed that the planet was emitting a deep red light as hot hydrogen atoms fell down onto it, which suggested that the world is still beefing up. — Quanta Magazine, "A Close Look at Newborn Planets Reveals Hints of Infant Moons," 16 June 2019 Based in Santa Clara, the shop modifies and maintains Porsches; many of its clients are weekend racers who want beefed up suspensions to take to the track. — Alex Davies, WIRED, "A Very Fast Spin Through the Hills in a Hybrid Porsche 911," 10 June 2019 Piet Carinus, chairperson of the Stellenbosch agriculture union, told the media outlet that since the occupation of his farm, Smit had beefed up security and posted extra guards on the property. — Fox News, "South African farmer in land dispute shot dead by gunmen," 4 June 2019 The federal agency said that gang activity has increased in Houston in recent years and that law enforcement agencies are beefing up efforts to confront the problem. — Houston Chronicle, "Nearly 2 dozen arrested in operation targeting MS-13," 4 June 2019 Political parties should be allowed to assist their state affiliates, as well as candidates and campaigns, in beefing up cybersecurity. — The Washington Post, Twin Cities, "Other voices: How to prevent another Russian attack," 13 June 2019 Republicans could use their majority to force through measures that Democrats don’t like, such as beefing up criminal sentences. — Washington Post, "‘A rare position’: Va. Gov. Ralph Northam could wind up with great power, months after almost resigning," 10 June 2019 Several agenda items, such as beefing up border law enforcement, had been settled months ago, one official said, and thus were easy to add to the deal. — Noah Bierman, latimes.com, "Trump claims victory, but the U.S.-Mexico pact is a compromise, and tentative," 8 June 2019

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.