beef
Pluralbeef (some meanings), beefs (some meanings), beeves (some meanings)
Pluralbeef (some meanings), beefs (some meanings), beeves (some meanings)
- 1The meat of cattle, used as food; on product labels it may include edible parts other than muscle.
The restaurant buys its beef from a ranch outside town.
Ground beef forms the base of most chili recipes.
UsageUsed with no article for the meat: we had beef for dinner; roast beef, ground beef, a pound of beef.
- 2Consisting of or containing the meat of cattle as an ingredient.
The diner's menu pairs beef enchiladas with rice and beans.
He simmered the beef broth for six hours.
- 3To add weight or strength to something; to make it more substantial or powerful.
Engineers beefed up the bridge supports before reopening the span.
The studio plans to beef up security around the set.
UsageUsually beef up something: beef up security. With a pronoun, say beef it up.
Similarstrengthen, reinforce, bolster, boost, fortify
Oppositeweaken
Note
Hot Rod in 1969 used it without the particle, writing that the axle housing was beefed by welding where extreme loading showed. The verb grows straight out of the "muscle" noun.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Hot Rod used beefed without up in 1969, describing reinforcement of an axle housing by welding where extreme loading was evident. en.wiktionary.org
- The strengthening verb derives from the noun beef meaning muscle power. en.wiktionary.org
- 4A grudge against or standing complaint about someone or something; a reason for dislike or distrust.
The two rappers have had a beef going since their first albums.
Her main beef with the plan is the cost.
UsageUse with for the other person: have a beef with someone. The plural is beefs.
Similargrudge, gripe, grievance, feud, complaint
Note
In The Notorious B.I.G.'s Going Back to Cali (1997), the rapper says his only beef is with people who wrong him, which shows the word well: a grudge aimed at particular people. It can be countable or not, with the plural beefs, and the target usually follows with, as in a beef with his brother or her main beef with the plan.
- 5Relating to cattle raised for meat, as in 'beef herds' or 'beef country'.
Most of the beef herds in this county graze on open rangeland.
The vet checks each beef steer before it leaves the ranch.
- 6Cattle raised for meat, as a group or as a single animal.
The ranch runs beef on two thousand acres of dry grassland.
Drovers once moved beef along these roads to the city markets.
UsageCounted with head: two hundred head of beef. The uncommon countable form a beef has plural beeves.
Similarcattle
Less common meanings
- 7Muscle or physical bulk; more broadly, size, strength, or power.
The linebacker added twenty pounds of beef in the offseason.
This amplifier has enough beef to fill a stadium.
UsageSet phrase: put some beef into it, meaning push harder. Used with some or no article.
Similarmuscle, bulk, brawn, heft, power
Note
Slang that turns the meat into muscle. It stretches from bodies to rules: a law can need beef in its enforcement provisions. Its verb counterpart is to beef up.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- The muscle sense is a figurative extension of the meat sense. en.wiktionary.org
- “Beef up” is related to “beef” meaning muscle or power. en.wiktionary.org
- 8To complain, especially persistently or vocally.
Commuters beef about the fare hikes every single year.
He spent the whole meeting beefing about the new policy.
UsageUse about for the cause: beef about the fare hikes.
Similarcomplain, gripe, grumble, moan, whine
Note
P. G. Wodehouse's Jeeves in the Offing (1960) has a visitor who had not come to beef about his sleeping accommodation. It can also introduce speech directly, as in "Who's Precious?" she beefed. Don't confuse it with the "botch" verb, which takes a direct object.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- P. G. Wodehouse wrote Jeeves in the Offing. en.wikipedia.org
- The book was first published in 1960. openlibrary.org
- The novel contains the passage about someone who had not come to complain about his sleeping accommodation. en.wiktionary.org
- The quoted speech and reporting verb occur together as given. en.wiktionary.org
- 9To feud with someone or hold a grudge against them.
Those two crews still beef over territory neither of them controls anymore.
The rappers have been beefing since their joint album fell apart.
UsageOften progressive, with with or over: beefing with a neighbor, beefing over territory.
Similarfeud, quarrel, fight, clash, squabble
Note
The verb behind feuds in African-American Vernacular English and Multicultural London English. It takes no direct object: the other side comes after with, as in beefing with his neighbor, and the cause after over, as in beef over territory. It is the verb form of the "grudge" noun.
- 10The essential or most substantial content of something, such as a document, argument, or project.
The executive summary is fine, but the beef of the proposal starts on page ten.
Reviewers complained that the talk was all slides and no beef.
UsageThe beef of something is its core; a beef with someone is a grudge. The meat of works the same way.
Similarmeat
Note
A figurative step from meat to substance, still slang. The beef of a paper is what it actually says once the preliminaries are out of the way. The word meat makes the same step, as in the meat of the argument.
- 11Powerfully built or robust; impressively strong or capable.
Similarrobust, powerful, rugged, strong, sturdy
Note
Slang close to beefy in sense, it differs from the other adjective uses in standing after the verb: Wow, your audio setup is beef! It is slang praise for equipment and builds, and it does not take more or most. In beef stew and beef cattle the word only classifies; here it passes judgment.
- 12To fail at something or make a mess of it; to botch an attempt.
The skater beefed the landing and slid into the boards.
If you beef the demo, we lose the client.
UsagePut the task or action directly after the verb: I beefed the landing.
Similarbotch, flub, fluff, muff, blow
Note
Its object is what separates it from the complaining verb, which never takes one. A skater beefs a landing, a student beefs a test, a fielder beefs an easy catch: the thing botched comes straight after the verb. It is slang, close in meaning to botch or mess up.
- 13To break wind; to fart.
He swears the dog beefed, but the dog looked equally offended.
People who beef in crowded waiting rooms rarely admit it.
UsageKeep it to situations where fart would also be acceptable.
Note
Crude slang, at home in a groan of mock outrage: who just beefed in here? Context usually separates it from the complaining verb, which tends to bring an about with it.
- 14To raise one's voice in song or speech, or to call out at high volume.
- 15To cry; to weep.
- 16Calcite or limestone with a fibrous structure, particularly where it forms jagged bands between layers of shale in Dorset.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of beef apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origin
"Beef" came through Middle English from Anglo-Norman "beof" and Old French "buef" or "boef" ("ox"), from Latin "bōs" ("ox"), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws; it is a doublet of "cow." In the sense of a grudge or argument, it began as American slang, attested as a verb "to complain" in 1888 and a noun "complaint" in 1899, possibly traceable to an earlier British expression for "alarm," though this link remains uncertain.
Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 8 facts
- Beef came through Middle English from Anglo-Norman beof and Old French buef or boef, meaning ox. en.wiktionary.org
- The French word derives from Latin bōs, meaning ox, through its accusative bovem. en.wiktionary.org
- The word ultimately derives from Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws. en.wiktionary.org
- Beef and cow are doublets. en.wiktionary.org
- The grudge or argument sense originated as American slang. en.wiktionary.org
- The verb meaning to complain is attested in 1888. en.wiktionary.org
- The noun meaning complaint is attested in 1899. en.wiktionary.org
- A connection with an earlier British expression meaning alarm has been proposed but remains uncertain. en.wiktionary.org