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

High U.S. beef prices, China’s growing reliance on Brazil, and tariffs pose challenges to fully realizing the new agricultural pledges.

From Barron's • May 18, 2026

Just about anybody can rock with that – including a modern hip-hop artist who transformed a beef into awards gold.

From Salon • May 16, 2026

And on Iceman album opener, Make Them Cry, it looks like Drake has given a glimpse into his feelings at the height of the rap beef.

From BBC • May 15, 2026

American and Chinese business leaders dotted the hall, tucking into dishes like lobster in tomato soup, crispy beef ribs, Beijing roast duck and tiramisu.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026

Dinner was doomed before the roast beef even made it out of the oven.

From "City Spies" by James Ponti

Related Words

• meat