steak

American  

[stayk] / steɪk /

noun

• steaks
  plural

1. a typically thick slice of meat, especially beef, or a thick slice of firm, hearty fish, cooked by broiling, pan-frying, etc.: salmon steaks.

   a sirloin steak;

   salmon steaks.

2. ground or chopped meat prepared in the same manner as a steak.

3. a thick slice of a hearty vegetable or other meaty food: tofu steaks.

   eggplant steaks;

   tofu steaks.

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steak British  

/ steɪk /

noun

1. See beefsteak

2. any of various cuts of beef of varying quality, used for braising, stewing, etc

3. a thick slice of pork, veal, etc, or of a large fish, esp cod or salmon

4. minced meat prepared in the same way as steak

   hamburger steak

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• steaks
  plural

Etymology

Origin of steak

1400–50; late Middle English steike < Old Norse steik meat roasted on a stick

Explanation

If you order steak at a restaurant, you'll probably be served a thick piece of cooked meat. Although most people use the noun steak to mean a slice of grilled or broiled beef, it can be used to talk about any kind of meat or fish. Many people like to cook tuna steaks on the grill or order a medium-rare T-bone steak at a restaurant. Since the fifteenth century, steak has meant "thick slice of meat," from the Old Norse root word steik, "roast meat."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

steak steaks

By the time the servers get all the plates out of the catering kitchen, the steak or fish is often cold.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026

I spoil myself on Sundays because I might get a steak from there, a salad from Tender Greens and a lemonade from Cheesecake Factory.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

Over the course of Jim Harbaugh’s two decades as a head coach, he has been America’s most famous khaki-pants evangelist, moonlit as a Supreme Court scholar, and declared steak a daily vitamin.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

By the end, the federal government has one final piece of advice for the president: have some steak with his butter.

From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026

They fed the dogs choice pieces of reindeer steak.

From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell

They shopped for cowboy hats, ate gigantic steaks and beat the five-time champion Brazilians along the way.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

It’s a really great spot for burgers, fish and steaks, so we’ll just go there for a little snack, and I’ll be the only one eating, because everyone’s still full.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

You could have customers showing up ordering a feast of fillet steaks because they got an inside tip on your generosity.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026

I had prepped appetizers, sides and heavily salted my steaks, in advance, which was fortunate.

From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026

Other group members stored their bodily fluids in baby-food jars or wrote cryptic messages on packaged skirt steaks.

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris