beef
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beef
- /biːf/ Australia, New Zealand, UK
- /bɪjf/ British, Southern, Standard
- /bif/ US, Scotland
Rhymes with -iːf
Where it comes from
From Middle English beef, bef, beof, borrowed from Anglo-Norman beof, Old French buef, boef (“ox”) (modern French bœuf); from Latin bovem (“ox”), from Proto-Italic *gʷōs, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws. Doublet of cow.
Beef in the sense of “a grudge, argument” was originally an American slang expression:
* attested as a verb “to complain” in 1888: “He'll beef an' kick like a steer an' let on he won't never wear 'em.”— New York World, 13 May;
* attested as a noun “complaint, protest, grievance, sim.” in 1899: “He made a Horrible Beef because he couldn't get Loaf Sugar for his Coffee.”—Fables in Slang (1900) by George Ade, page 80.
As to the possible origin of this American usage, it has been suggested that it can be traced back to a British expression for “alarm”, first recorded in 1725: "BEEF 'to alarm, as To cry beef upon us; they have discover'd us, and are in Pursuit of us". The term "beef" in this context would be a Cockney rhyming slang of thief. However, the continuous use of a similar expression, including its assumed semantic shift to 'complaint' in the United States from the 1880s onwards, needs further clarification.
noun beef · beefs · beeves
- The meat from cattle or other bovines; especially, that from adults. I love eating beef.
- The edible portions of a cow (including those which are not meat). lean finely textured beef
- Muscle or musculature; size, strength or potency. Put some beef into it! We've got to get the car over the bump.
- Essence, content; the important part of a document or project. The beef of his paper was a long rant about government.
- Bovine animals. However, there were millions of head of beef roaming the plains of Texas.
- A bovine (cow or bull) being raised for its meat. Do you want to raise beeves?
- A grudge; dislike (of something or someone); lack of faith or trust (in something or someone); a reason for a dislike or grudge. (often + with) He's got beef over what you said.
- A criminal charge. I'm in prison for attempting to kill two police officers (a genuine bum beef) and am alleged to be a part of a group of mad bombers.
- Fibrous calcite or limestone, especially when occurring in a jagged layer between shales in Dorset. Clays, shales, sands, red and green marls, and alum shale, with occasional layers of "beef" (fibrous carbonate of lime) […] Chief "Beef" Beds, Dark (alum) shales with "beef" and selenite, beds of limestone, and layers of perished shells. Cyrena and Cyrides. Corbula Beds. Layers of shelly limestone,
verb beefs · beefing · beefed
- To complain. “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.
-
To add weight or strength to.
First off, the axle housing was beefed by welding areas where extreme loading is evident (black marked areas).
Similar: beef up
- To fart; break wind. Ugh, who just beefed in here?
- To cry. David was beefing last night after Ruth told him off.
- To fail or mess up. I beefed my presentation hard yesterday.
- To feud or hold a grudge against. Those two are beefing right now — best you stay out of it.
- To sing or speak loudly; to cry out.
adjective
- Being a bovine animal that is being raised for its meat. We bought three beef calves this morning.
- Producing or known for raising lots of beef. beef farms
- Consisting of or containing beef as an ingredient. beef stew
- Beefy; powerful; robust. Wow, your audio setup is beef!
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: bitch, bellyache, kick, squawk, holler, gripe, beef cattle, boeuf, grouse, meat, pork, veal, steak, cow, cattle, butchery
Translations
Every language
noun meat
| Español | carne de res, carne de vaca, carne bovina, rotí, matagón |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 쇠고기 soegogi, 소고기 sogogi, -우 -u, 우육 uyuk |
| 日本語 | 牛肉 gyūniku, ビーフ bīfu |
| 中文 | 牛肉 niúròu |
| हिन्दी | गोमांस gomāns, गोश्त gośt |
| Kiswahili | nyama ya ng'ombe |
| Português | carne de vaca, carne bovina, carne |
| Français | bœuf |
| Deutsch | Rindfleisch, Ochsenfleisch |
| Italiano | manzo, carne bovina |
| Ελληνικά | βοδινό vodinó |
| Română | vită |
| Русский | говя́дина govjádina, теля́тина teljátina |
| Tiếng Việt | thịt bò |
| العربية | لَحْم بَقَر laḥm baqar |
| עברית | בָּקָר |
noun grudge; dislike
| Español | animosidad, aversión, bronca, contienda, discordia, disputa |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 牢騷 /牢骚 láosāo |
| Deutsch | Groll, heftige Verärgerung, Rochus, Widerwillen, Beschwerde |
adj having beef as an ingredient
| Русский | говя́жий govjážij |
|---|
Talk about this word "beef." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/beef. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. beef. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/beef "beef." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/beef.Cite this
@misc{beef_2026,
title = {beef},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/beef},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
