beef

American  

[beef] / bif /

noun

beeves, plural beefs plural

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)

beefs, present (3rd person singular) beefed, past participle, past beefing present participle

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

Derived Forms

• beefless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• beefs
  plural
• beeves
  plural

Participles

• beefing
  present
• beefed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• beef
  simple
• beefs
  simple
• have beefed
  perfect
• has beefed
  perfect
• am beefing
  progressive
• are beefing
  progressive
• is beefing
  progressive
• have been beefing
  perfect progressive
• has been beefing
  perfect progressive

Past

• beefed
  simple
• had beefed
  perfect
• was beefing
  progressive
• were beefing
  progressive
• had been beefing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will beef
  simple
• will have beefed
  perfect
• will be beefing
  progressive
• will have been beefing
  perfect progressive

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

This, of course, is reminiscent of a similar glitch that nearly destroyed The Beef in “Review,” the critically acclaimed first-season oner that made the show a summertime must-watch.

From Salon • Jun. 28, 2026

Together, Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto and Sydney “Syd” Adamu — played by Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri, respectively — transformed the Original Beef of Chicagoland from a hole-in-the-wall into the titular fine-dining establishment.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 26, 2026

Beef is up double-digits because the U.S. cattle herd hit a historic low.

From MarketWatch • May 13, 2026

The National Cattleman’s Beef Association has criticized increasing Brazilian beef imports, saying Brazil has failed to meet U.S. standards for animal health and food safety.

From Barron's • May 12, 2026

Beef cattle still get born on thousands of independently owned ranches like theirs.

From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan

Related Words

• meat