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

Example Sentences

I enjoyed the signature burger at the Polaris lounge in San Francisco much more than my beef tenderloin in the sky.

From The Wall Street Journal

Mara Karlin, who served as assistant secretary of defense for strategy during the Biden administration, said the priority then was beefing up the military presence in the Pacific.

From The Wall Street Journal

The pastels—reminiscent of empanadas—were filled with beef and vegetables and served with a flavorful sauce.

From Salon

Some schools are starting their own in-house lending programs and others are beefing up their lists of private lenders with which they have special deals.

From MarketWatch

New nutrition guidance from the American Heart Association advises getting protein from plants rather than meat, choosing low-fat or fat-free dairy and using olive, soybean and canola oils instead of beef tallow and butter.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• meat