Beef

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /biːf/
• Rhymes: -iːf

Origin

From Old French buef, boef ("ox") (modern French: bœuf); from Latin bōs ("ox"). Cognate to bovine.

Full definition of beef

Noun

1. (uncountable) The meat from a cow, bull or other bovines.I love eating beef.
1. (in the meat industry, on product packaging) The edible portions of a cow (including those which are not meat).lean finely textured beefboneless lean beef trimmings
2. (uncountable) Bovine animals.
• 2010‎, October 21, Who's the real McCoy? Abilene's Joseph in 8 Wonders contest, However, there were millions of head of beef roaming the plains of Texas.
3. (archaic, countable, plural: beef or beeves) A single bovine (cow or bull) being raised for its meat.Do you want to raise beeves?
4. (slang, countable or uncountable, plural: beefs) a grudge (+ with)He has a beef with anyone who tells him otherwise.He has beef with anyone who tells him otherwise.
5. (slang, uncountable) muscle, size, strengthPut some beef into it! We've got to get the car over the bump.We've got to get some beef into the enforcement provisions of that law.
6. (slang, uncountable) essence, contentThe beef of his paper was a long rant about government.

Synonyms

• (meat of a cow) cowflesh

Hyponyms

• (meat of a cow) veal

Derived terms

Related terms

• bovine

Verb

1. (intransitive) To complain.
• Wodehouse Offing|X|He lost no time in bursting into speech. “Bertie! I've been hunting for you all over the place!” “I was having a chat with Swordfish in his pantry. Something wrong?” “Something wrong!” “Don't you like the Red Room?” “The Red Room!” I gathered from his manner that he had not come to beef about his sleeping accommodation. “Then what is your little trouble?”
2. (transitive) To add weight or strength to, usually as beef up.Since you stopped running, you are really beefing out.
3. (intransitive, slang) To fart.Ugh, who just beefed in here?
4. (intransitive, slang) To feud.Those two are beefing right now - best you stay out of it for now.
5. (intransitive, chiefly Yorkshire) To cryDavid was beefing last night after Ruth told him off

Derived terms

• beef up
• beef out

Adjective

1. Being a bovine animal that is being raised for its meat.We bought three beef calves this morning.
2. Producing or known for raising lots of beef.beef farmsbeef country
3. Consisting of or containing beef as an ingredient.beef stew

Related terms

• beefy

Anagrams

• feeb