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

Last October, JBS’s Tolleson, AZ factory recalled 6.5 million pounds of ground beef, then was forced to recall another 5.1 million pounds in December. — Chris Morris, Fortune, "General Mills Recalls Flour for Possible E. Coli Contamination," 17 Sep. 2019 Meze Greek Fusion will offer beer and its signature Meze Burger, made with seasoned ground beef and lamb mixed with feta cheese, garlic, onion and mint and topped with sautéed onions, mushrooms, Swiss cheese, fiery feta and garlic aioli. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "National Cheeseburger Day 2019: 7 places in San Diego where you can find specials and deals," 13 Sep. 2019 The Farmhouse has a fried egg, bacon and tartar sauce with its quarter pound of beef. — Polly Campbell, Cincinnati.com, "Frisch's introduces 3 new Big Boys," 11 Sep. 2019 Of those movements, about 3,000 loads of beef, lamb, pork, poultry, eggs and dairy products would have to be stopped somewhere on their journey, with each check taking about 10 minutes to complete. — Washington Post, "Irish border riddle still confounds the Brexit experts," 10 Sep. 2019 Longer term, reducing consumption of beef is a good way to lower the industry demand that drives mass deforestation in Brazil (and therefore government support of it). — Rose Stokes, refinery29.com, "Environmental Horror & Political Scandal: What You Need To Know About The Amazon Rainforest Fires," 24 Aug. 2019 Must Try: The Classic döner kebab, which can be customized with chicken, beef, lamb or a mixture of meats with vegetable toppings, tzatziki, yogurt herb or house sauce and finished with fries and a drink. — Dahlia Ghabour, The Courier-Journal, "5 food trucks not to miss at this weekend's Food Truck Mash-Up event," 20 Aug. 2019 This isn’t to say that beef and lamb shawarma have disappeared completely. — Nick Kindelsperger, chicagotribune.com, "From shawarma to falafel, where to find the best Middle Eastern sandwiches in Chicagoland," 16 Aug. 2019 Meat such as beef and lamb is particularly inefficient to produce, because livestock need lots of space to graze, and that land is often space that used to be covered with forests. — Abigail Abrams, Time, "How Eating Less Meat Could Help Protect the Planet From Climate Change," 8 Aug. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Hauptman has beefed up the front office, thus avoiding some of the PR blunders that plagued his ownership previously, and made commitments to recreational and youth soccer throughout the area. — Brian Straus, SI.com, "Changes for Chicago Fire: Owner Hauptman Out Ahead of Soldier Field Return," 13 Sep. 2019 Nine of the other 15 offensive linemen on the roster also beefed up to more than 300 pounds, with Dobbs (295) and Samac (293) nearing that mark. — Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press, "Michigan State football O-line tired of being offense's 'scapegoat'," 28 Aug. 2019 Galleria Dallas, has beefed up its customer service starting this weekend. — Maria Halkias, Dallas News, "Retail Therapy: NYC's Camp experience store coming to Dallas. Shop now tax free in Texas.," 9 Aug. 2019 Rush has hired 117 service technicians at its dealerships while beefing up its customer service, the company said Thursday. — Joshua Fechter, ExpressNews.com, "New Braunfels truck dealer Rush Enterprises posts $42 million profit in second quarter," 25 July 2019 Friends’’ from Netflix to beef up its own upcoming streaming service. — Tali Arbel, BostonGlobe.com, "They won’t be there for you much longer: AT&T to pull Friends from Netflix for its own streaming service," 9 July 2019 Two Catholic institutions are coming together to beef up health services for low-income residents in east Houston. — Todd Ackerman, Houston Chronicle, "$1M Valero Energy gift caps fundraising for Houston healthcare center," 22 Feb. 2018 Those priorities range from Kim’s proposed ballot measure to raise taxes on commercial landlords and fund child care for low-income families, to Leno’s hope of beefing up mental health services for homeless people. — Rachel Swan, San Francisco Chronicle, "Progressive mayoral candidates push to end moderates’ hold on office," 8 Jan. 2018 Disney bought Fox’s properties to beef up its own streaming service, meaning Mr. Murphy’s next move will be one of the most consequential in the industry. — John Koblin, New York Times, "‘Am I Going to Have to Put Mickey Mouse in “American Horror Story”?’," 4 Jan. 2018

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.