beef

1 of 2

noun

ˈbēf 

plural beefs ˈbēfs  or beeves ˈbēvz 

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

• 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 economists …

—John Fischer

intransitive verb

: complain

always beefing about something

Synonyms of beef

Noun

• whine
• complaint
• bitch
• grievance
• fuss
• grouse
• moan
• carp
• lament

Verb

• complain
• scream
• whine

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

For instance, purebred Tajima Kuoge Wagyu cow beef, aged a minimum of 36 months, is supplied to a very limited number of restaurants worldwide, including Tsukimi, the Japanese eatery at the hotel. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Feb. 2026

Simmons echoes the enthusiasm, citing martinis, beef tartare, scallops, duck fat fries, and—yes—the burger as her favorite. —Karla Walsh, Travel + Leisure, 22 Feb. 2026

Verb

Bill Maher and Jimmy Kimmel are beefing. —Brian Truitt, USA Today, 13 Feb. 2026

One could be forgiven to pooh-pooh yet another play that lays out William Shakespeare’s bona fides as a hip-hop icon, the original bar spitter who beefed with plenty of his contemporaries while dropping sick flows all over Elizabethan England. —David John Chávez, Mercury News, 4 Feb. 2026

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

Phrases Containing beef

• beef bourguignon
• beef burgundy
• beef cattle
• beef Stroganoff
• beef up
• beef Wellington
• chipped beef
• corned beef
• ground beef
• Kobe beef
• wagyu beef

Rhymes for beef

• brief
• chief
• fief
• grief
• leaf
• lief
• reef
• reif
• seif
• sheaf
• thief
• belief

Video

Words of the Year: 1066

English was never the same after the Norman Conquest

Kids Definition

beef

1 of 2 noun

ˈbēf 

plural beefs ˈbēfs  or beeves ˈbēvz 

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

: complain sense 1

Medical Definition

beef

noun

ˈbēf 

plural beefs ˈbēfs  or beeves ˈbēvz 

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