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⇱ beef - WordReference.com Dictionary of English

beef

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UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈbiːf/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/bif/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(bēf )

Inflections of 'beef' (n):
beef
n (Uncountable sense(s): no inflections)
beeves
npl (For the adult cow)
beefs
npl (For the complaint)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
beef /bif/USA pronunciation   n., pl. beefs for 4., v. 
n. 
  1. the flesh of a cow, steer, or bull raised and killed for meat:[uncountable]They roasted beef on the fire.
  2. Slang Termsa complaint:[countable]"You got a beef, go see the manager.''

v. 
  1. Slang Termsto complain;
    grumble:[no object]Quit beefing and get back to work.
  2. beef up, [~ + up + object] to add strength, numbers, force, etc., to:Beef up that report with some facts and figures.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
beef  (bēf ),USA pronunciation n., pl. beeves (bēvz)USA pronunciation for 2;
beefs for 4, v. 
n. 
  1. the flesh of a cow, steer, or bull raised and killed for its meat.
  2. Animal Husbandryan adult cow, steer, or bull raised for its meat.
  3. Informal Terms
    • brawn;
      muscular strength.
    • strength;
      power.
    • weight, as of a person.
    • human flesh.
  4. Slang Terms
    • a complaint.
    • an argument or dispute.

v.i. 
  1. Slang Termsto complain;
    grumble.
  2. beef up:
    • to add strength, numbers, force, etc., to;
      strengthen:During the riots, the nighttime patrol force was beefed up with volunteers.
    • to increase or add to:to beef up our fringe benefits.
  • Latin bov- (stem of bōs) ox, cow; akin to cow1
  • Anglo-French beof, Old French boef
  • 1250–1300; 1885–90 for def. 5; Middle English
beef′less, adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
beef /biːf/ n
  1. the flesh of various bovine animals, esp the cow, when killed for eating
  2. ( pl beeves /biːvz/) an adult ox, bull, cow, etc, reared for its meat
  3. informal human flesh, esp when muscular
  4. ( pl ) a complaint
 vb
  1. (intransitive) slang to complain, esp repeatedly
  2. (transitive) often followed by up: informal to strengthen; reinforce
Etymology: 13th Century: from Old French boef, from Latin bōs ox; see cow1
'beef' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Collocations: [ground, hamburger, sliced] beef, he (has) really beefed up, beef [cows, farm, country], more...

🗣️Forum discussions with the word(s) "beef" in the title:

a delay of sales to beef up the cash situation
a kilo of beef, packed in 2 half kilo packs
A lot of beef on the hoof
a lot of <beef> with my dad
a package of beef
a side of pork/beef
"As someone who's seen more than her fair share of bad beef"
beef
Beef and broccoli.
beef and kidney pie? Not if he wanted those 50 destroyers
Beef and onion dumplings, or beef and onion, and dumplings?
beef capital
beef ingredient
beef is settled (slang)
Beef Minced Meat
beef noodles or the noodles with beef
Beef steak is high in fat.
Beef stew / rack of lamb
Beef to the heel
beef up
Beef up vs. boost up
Beef with red pepper and onions on rice
beef-and-thunder
beef-boner
beef-princess
Corn beef / corned beef
Do you sometimes get into beef?
doing me out of stewing beef
doing the annual Diaz St. Patrick's Day jig/corned beef eat-a-thon
Dumpling(s) and Beef Noodle(s) set
more...

Look up "beef" at Merriam-Webster
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