beef
English
Etymology
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d8/Choice.png/200px-Choice.png)
From Middle English beef, bef, beof, borrowed from Anglo-Norman beof, Old French buef, boef (“ox”) (modern French: bœuf); from Latin bōs (“ox”). Cognate to bovine.
This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term. sense: a grudge, argument
Pronunciation
- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 290: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "GA" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /bif/
- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 290: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "UK" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /biːf/
Audio (UK): (file) - Rhymes: -iːf
Noun
beef (countable and uncountable, plural beef or beefs or beeves)
- (uncountable) The meat from a cow, bull, or other bovine.
- I love eating beef.
- (in the meat industry, on product packaging) The edible portions of a cow (including those which are not meat).
- (uncountable) Bovine animals.
- 2010 October 21, “Who's the real McCoy? Abilene's Joseph in 8 Wonders contest”, in Abilene Recorder Chronicle:
- However, there were millions of head of beef roaming the plains of Texas.
- (archaic, countable, plural: beeves) A single bovine (cow or bull) being raised for its meat.
- Do you want to raise beeves?
- (by extension, slang, uncountable) Muscle or musculature; size, strength or potency.
- Put 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.
- (figurative, slang, uncountable) Essence, content; the important part of a document or project.
- The beef of his paper was a long rant about government.
- (slang, countable or uncountable, plural: beefs) 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 a beef with everyone in the room.
- He's got beef over what you said.
- Remember what happened last fall? That's his beef with me.
Synonyms
Hyponyms
- (meat of a cow): veal
Derived terms
terms derived from beef (noun)
Related terms
Translations
meat
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grudge; dislike
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See also
Verb
beef (third-person singular simple present beefs, present participle beefing, simple past and past participle beefed)
- (intransitive) To complain.
- 1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter X, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC:
- 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?”
- (transitive) To add weight or strength to, usually as beef up.
- Since you stopped running, you are really beefing out.
- (intransitive, slang) To fart; break wind.
- Ugh, who just beefed in here?
- (African-American Vernacular, intransitive, slang) To feud or hold a grudge against.
- Those two are beefing right now - best you stay out of it for now.
- (intransitive, chiefly Yorkshire) To cry
- David was beefing last night after Ruth told him off
Derived terms
Adjective
beef (not comparable)
- 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
- beef country
- Consisting of or containing beef as an ingredient.
- beef stew
Related terms
Translations
being a bovine animal raised for meat
producing or raising lots of beef meat
having beef as an ingredient
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Anagrams
Afrikaans
Verb
beef (present beef, present participle bewende, past participle gebeef)
- Alternative form of bewe
Dutch
Pronunciation
Verb
beef
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Anglo-Norman
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/iːf
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- English indeclinable nouns
- English nouns with irregular plurals
- English terms with quotations
- English terms with archaic senses
- English slang
- Min Nan terms with non-redundant manual script codes
- English verbs
- English intransitive verbs
- English transitive verbs
- African-American Vernacular English
- Yorkshire English
- English adjectives
- English uncomparable adjectives
- en:Cattle
- en:Meats
- Afrikaans lemmas
- Afrikaans verbs
- Dutch terms with audio links
- Rhymes:Dutch/eːf
- Dutch non-lemma forms
- Dutch verb forms