BEEF Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com (original) (raw)

noun

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.

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.

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

"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

verb

1. slang (intr) to complain, esp repeatedly

   he was beefing about his tax

2. informal to strengthen; reinforce

"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

More idioms and phrases containing beef

• where's the beef

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.

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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.

Young people can’t get enough of ground beef with rice, cucumber salad and ‘girl dessert’

FromThe Wall Street Journal • May 16, 2026

That’s bad news for his company, Clovergrass Produce, and its crop of soybeans, cucumbers, peanuts and corn plus his herd of beef cattle.

FromSalon • May 15, 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.

FromBBC • May 15, 2026

Trump is likely to push China to purchase more U.S. farm products including beef, soybeans, sorghum, and corn.

FromBarron's • May 14, 2026

Kareem reaches into his Renegades bag and takes out his beef jerky.

From"A High Five for Glenn Burke" by Phil Bildner

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.