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

Noun

• bitch
• bleat
• carp
• complaint
• fuss
• grievance
• gripe
• grouch
• grouse
• grumble
• holler
• kvetch
• lament
• miserere
• moan
• murmur
• plaint
• squawk
• wail
• whimper
• whine
• whinge [British]
• yammer

Verb

• bellyache
• bitch
• bleat
• carp
• caterwaul
• complain
• crab
• croak
• fuss
• gripe
• grizzle
• grouch
• grouse
• growl
• grumble
• grump
• holler
• inveigh
• keen
• kick
• kvetch
• maunder [chiefly British]
• moan
• murmur
• mutter
• nag
• repine
• scream
• squawk
• squeal
• wail
• whimper
• whine
• whinge [British]
• yammer
• yawp
• yaup
• yowl

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

When Sage flips to its new menu next month, Engelhart and Sosa plan to serve beef and bison that are all grass-fed and -finished on partner farms via mob grazing, or the practice of moving the animals daily to allow grass and soil to regrow and regenerate nutrients in between grazing. —Stephanie Breijo, Los Angeles Times, 25 Apr. 2024

This one is sticky and candy-colored, brightly sweet but in balance with the salty beef. —Drew Jackson, Miami Herald, 25 Apr. 2024

Seales revealed that the root of her beef was with Rae's publicist. —Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 25 Apr. 2024

The restaurant serves popular Greek street food like chicken souvlaki, beef/lamb or chicken gyros, feta-garlic fries and falafel. —John Metcalfe, The Mercury News, 24 Apr. 2024

But as much as this beef has been about garnering attention, Drake could be very willing to go to court to make his case. —Charles Pulliam-Moore, The Verge, 24 Apr. 2024

Menu: Appetizers, Steaks, Seafood, Combinations, Chicken and Pasta Cuisine: classic steakhouse What to order: Your favorite cut of beef, cooked to order — top it with bleu cheese crumbles, brown mushroom gravy or horseradish. —Melissa Oyler, Charlotte Observer, 24 Apr. 2024

While the bulk of that track was aimed at Kendrick Lamar and Metro Boomin, Drake also targeted Ross on some bars for intruding on the beef. —Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 23 Apr. 2024

Cole quickly distanced himself from the beef, apologizing publicly for the track and pulling it from digital streaming platforms. —Matthew Strauss, Pitchfork, 20 Apr. 2024

Verb

Though not yet commercially available, the rice was developed by researchers in Korea as a nutrition-dense food that can be produced sustainably, at least more so than beef itself. —Yasmin Tayag, The Atlantic, 8 Mar. 2024

One being the resurgence of cooking in meat fats, mainly beef fat. —Fred Thompson, Charlotte Observer, 30 Jan. 2024

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

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

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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