as in complaining
to express dissatisfaction, pain, or resentment usually tiresomely
he tends to stand around and beef for hours about any slight, real or imagined
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Recent Examples of beefing
Country star Kacey Musgraves is currently beefing with a fat internet activist who is mad at her because Walmart doesn't sell any of her newest line of clothing in plus sizes.
—
Zach Dean Outkick, FOXNews.com, 22 May 2026
When the part of Season 2’s Austin came his way, Melton jumped at the chance to play one of the series’ beefing leads.
—Elaina Patton, IndieWire, 17 Apr. 2026
Nader’s character Selene is a Zuma Beach lifeguard constantly beefing with new, grown up Hobie Buchanon, played by Stephen Amell.
—Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 9 Mar. 2026
Bill Maher and Jimmy Kimmel are beefing.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 13 Feb. 2026
Smith launched their original Slider sunglasses in 1995, leaning into the nineties silhouette and beefing it up with the first patented dual-lens interchangeable system.
—Lily Ritter, Outside, 14 Jan. 2026
Efforts at beefing them up priced them out of existence.
—Deni Ellis Béchard, Scientific American, 13 Jan. 2026
Injuries would be a concern, but this is a beefing-up-the-squad signing.
—Tim Spiers, New York Times, 2 Jan. 2026
The reason that Natalie and Kim are beefing is because Kim doesn’t like that Marcus and Natalie are becoming friends.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 10 Dec. 2025
Zach Dean Outkick, FOXNews.com, 22 May 2026
When the part of Season 2’s Austin came his way, Melton jumped at the chance to play one of the series’ beefing leads.
—Elaina Patton, IndieWire, 17 Apr. 2026
Nader’s character Selene is a Zuma Beach lifeguard constantly beefing with new, grown up Hobie Buchanon, played by Stephen Amell.
—Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 9 Mar. 2026
Bill Maher and Jimmy Kimmel are beefing.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 13 Feb. 2026
Smith launched their original Slider sunglasses in 1995, leaning into the nineties silhouette and beefing it up with the first patented dual-lens interchangeable system.
—Lily Ritter, Outside, 14 Jan. 2026
Efforts at beefing them up priced them out of existence.
—Deni Ellis Béchard, Scientific American, 13 Jan. 2026
Injuries would be a concern, but this is a beefing-up-the-squad signing.
—Tim Spiers, New York Times, 2 Jan. 2026
The reason that Natalie and Kim are beefing is because Kim doesn’t like that Marcus and Natalie are becoming friends.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 10 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for beefing
Verb
-
Hegseth had some choice words for Europe, complaining that allies in the region hadn’t pulled their weight.—
Lim Hui Jie,
CNBC,
30 May 2026
-
Now in the possession of Kelly Kilpatrick (Cherry Jones), Deborah, dragging a complaining Ava with her as a kind of opposite beard, decides to con Kilpatrick and her wife Monica (Leslie Bibb).—
Rachel Elspeth Gross,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2026
Verb
-
In a moody backdrop echoing the track’s music video, the group brought their slick track to the thousands of screaming fans.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
25 May 2026
-
As crews assessed the situation, the driver was heard screaming to a nearby officer that a baby was inside the vehicle.—
Bonny Chu,
FOXNews.com,
25 May 2026
Verb
-
On May 16, firefighters at Station 8 heard a dog whining outside and went to investigate.—
Harriet Ramos,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
23 May 2026
-
Last week, the whining noise of unmanned flying objects could be heard in the city of Moscow once again.—
Anne Applebaum,
The Atlantic,
11 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Beefing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/beefing. Accessed 2 Jun. 2026.
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