beef

American  

[beef] / bif /

noun

plural

beeves, beefs

1. the flesh of a cow, steer, or bull raised and killed for its meat.

2. an adult cow, steer, or bull raised for its meat.

3. Informal.

   1. brawn; muscular strength.

   2. strength; power.

   3. weight, as of a person.

   4. human flesh.

4. Slang.

   1. a complaint.

   2. an argument or dispute.

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verb (used without object)

1. Slang. to complain; grumble.

verb phrase

1. beef up

   1. to add strength, numbers, force, etc., to; strengthen.

      During the riots, the nighttime patrol force was beefed up with volunteers.

   2. to increase or add to.

      to beef up our fringe benefits.

beef British  

/ biːf /

noun

1. the flesh of various bovine animals, esp the cow, when killed for eating

2. an adult ox, bull, cow, etc, reared for its meat

3. informal human flesh, esp when muscular

4. a complaint

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verb

1. slang (intr) to complain, esp repeatedly

   he was beefing about his tax

2. informal to strengthen; reinforce

beef Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing beef

• where's the beef

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Other Word Forms

• beefless
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of beef

First recorded in 1250–1300; 1885–90 beef for def. 5; Middle English, from Anglo-French beof, Old French boef, from Latin bov- (stem of bōs ) “ox, cow”; akin to cow ¹

Explanation

Beef is meat from a cow. It's also a word for a complaint. If you have a beef with someone, you’re not sharing a steak, you have a gripe. Just don’t beef to a cow; her problems are worse. Beef is a type of meat from cattle. If you've ever had a hamburger, you've had beef. The word beef comes from the Old French word buef, which became the word for basically, cow meat. Beef is to cow as pork is to pig or mutton is to sheep. On the other hand, if you have a beef with someone, you have a complaint. Beefing is expressing such feelings.

Example Sentences

Beef prices were up 11.5% in the latest quarter, the company disclosed.

From MarketWatch • May 4, 2026

The following contains spoilers from Season 2 of "Beef," including the finale.

From Salon • Apr. 23, 2026

Beef prices for consumers and wholesalers are at record highs as a result, and are expected to stay high for at least the next few years.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 20, 2026

The can of Colonial Beef Dripping was taken on the 1953 journey by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay who were the first confirmed to reach the summit of the world's tallest mountain.

From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026

Another night of Stew Beef making dynamic subtleties with his drum and living, sculptural, grotesques in the dance.

From "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston

Related Words

• meat