adjective
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like beef
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informal muscular; brawny
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informal fleshy; obese
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of beefy
Explanation
Someone who's beefy has a big, dense, muscular body. Your beefy, loud-voiced gym teacher might turn out to be a sweet and thoughtful person. The adjective beefy is a bit derogatory — in other words, it's not exactly used as a compliment. If you describe a person as beefy, you imply that not only is he large, strong, and brawny, he might also be somewhat dense. You could also use the word to mean "tasting like beef," although that's much less common. The word dates from 1743, from the sense of "human muscle."
Vocabulary lists containing beefy
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Great Wall Motors boasts some beefy gas-powered sport-utility vehicles, one advertised with the slogan “Be More Tank.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 29, 2026
At the start of this year, beefy pickups and SUVs were back in favor on Wall Street.
From Barron's • Mar. 20, 2026
FBI leadership has discussed sending "large, beefy" agents in Kevlar vests to bring Mr Comey to his court arraignment in Alexandria next week, CBS reports.
From BBC • Oct. 4, 2025
Classic moves lean umami-heavy: think beefy gravy for a poutine and disco fries, chili for the diner classic.
From Salon • Sep. 16, 2025
He was a large, beefy man who looked like his younger son, if you blew JT up with a bicycle pump to twice his size.
From "The Lions of Little Rock" by Kristin Levine
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
