beef
[beef]
- the flesh of a cow, steer, or bull raised and killed for its meat.
- an adult cow, steer, or bull raised for its meat.
- Informal.
- brawn; muscular strength.
- strength; power.
- weight, as of a person.
- human flesh.
- Slang.
- a complaint.
- an argument or dispute.
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- Slang. to complain; grumble.
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- beef up,
- to add strength, numbers, force, etc., to; strengthen: During the riots, the nighttime patrol force was beefed up with volunteers.
- to increase or add to: to beef up our fringe benefits.
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Origin of beef
1250–1300; 1885–90 for def 5; Middle English < Anglo-French beof, Old French boef < Latin bov- (stem of bōs) ox, cow; akin to cow1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for beef
Contemporary Examples
Champagne, which is also acidic, offers a nice complement to anything from tuna tartare to beef bourguignon.
The freezer is filled with meat, sides of beef and large pieces of lamb.
The beef began three days ago, when Snoop posted an unflattering Iggy meme to his Instagram.
Who Dat, Who Dat? It’s Snoop Dogg Saying Misogynistic Things to I-G-G-YAmy Zimmerman
October 15, 2014
My beef is not with Jolie, whom I congratulate on her work, and admire as human being simply trying to do a little bit of good.
This is also a show that decided that in order to get better it needed to beef up its female presence.
Historical Examples
A roast of beef meant a visit, in Dr. Ed's modest-paying clientele.
KMary Roberts Rinehart
Falling in with an American in the Bay of Biscay, we got a barrel of beef which lasted us in.
Ned MyersJames Fenimore Cooper
We were out of pork and beef, and our fire-wood was nearly gone.
Ned MyersJames Fenimore Cooper
Come, man, you must be as hungry as a hawk—a slice of the beef?
Night and Morning, CompleteEdward Bulwer-Lytton
In carving a round of beef, slice it horizontally and very thin.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various BranchesEliza Leslie
beef
- the flesh of various bovine animals, esp the cow, when killed for eating
- plural beeves (biːvz) an adult ox, bull, cow, etc, reared for its meat
- informal human flesh, esp when muscular
- plural beefs a complaint
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- (intr) slang to complain, esp repeatedlyhe was beefing about his tax
- (tr often foll by up) informal to strengthen; reinforce
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Word Origin
C13: from Old French boef, from Latin bōs ox; see cow 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for beef
n.
c.1300, from Old French buef "ox; beef; ox hide" (11c., Modern French boeuf), from Latin bovem (nominative bos, genitive bovis) "ox, cow," from PIE root *gwou- "cow, ox, bull" (see cow (n.)). Original plural was beeves.
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v.
"to complain," slang, 1888, American English, from noun meaning "complaint" (1880s). The noun meaning "argument" is recorded from 1930s. The origin and signification are unclear; perhaps it traces to the common late 19c. complaint of U.S. soldiers about the quantity or quality of beef rations.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with beef
beef
In addition to the idiom beginning with beef
also see:
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.