bully beef

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noun

canned or pickled beef.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

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Origin of bully beef

First recorded in 1865–70

Words nearby bully beef

bullwaddy, bullwhacker, bull wheel, bullwhip, bully, bully beef, bullyboy, bullycide, bully-off, bully pulpit, bullyrag

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use bully beef in a sentence

Mostly, he recounts his adventures dodging bombs, meeting brave men, and eating a lot of bully beef.
Sometimes Memoirs, Especially by Our Own Kin, Tell Us More Than They Intend|Louisa Thomas|June 16, 2011|DAILY BEAST
On the whole, the axe has it; one must have fires; and bully beef can be eaten in the slab form.
The Relief of Mafeking|Filson Young
The ration now is five biscuits (the full ration) and a Maconochie, or bully beef.
In the Ranks of the C.I.V.|Erskine Childers
We have had no fresh meat for a long time back, but one manages with an occasional change of bully beef or a commandeered chicken.
In the Ranks of the C.I.V.|Erskine Childers

The strong steaming brew served to wash down the scanty supply of cold bully beef.
War in the Garden of Eden|Kermit Roosevelt
All our pals were willing to contribute, and they gave us bully-beef and biscuits from their scanty stores.
Into the Jaws of Death|Jack O'Brien

British Dictionary definitions for bully beef

bully beef

noun

tinned corned beefOften shortened to: bully

Word Origin for bully beef

C19 bully, anglicized version of French bouilli, from boeuf bouilli boiled beef

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012