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

American farmers are making planting decisions now that determine what you’ll pay for beef, bread, chicken and other staples in October.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 9, 2026

As a result, the U.S. beef cattle inventory shrank to its lowest level since 1962, a problem that restricts beef supplies for years.

From Salon • Apr. 8, 2026

I told my staff, “Buffet-wise, make sure that you go out and you cut the chicken in half and you cut the beef in half,” because it was coming out uncooked.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026

She says the outbreak of BSE, or mad cow disease, that affected beef in the 1990s was more worrying because it could affect humans.

From BBC • Apr. 5, 2026

Jo saw and understood the look, and she stalked grimly away to get wine and beef tea, muttering to herself as she slammed the door, “I hate estimable young men with brown eyes!”

From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott

Related Words

• meat