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beef definition

beef (bēf)

noun pl. beeves, beefs

  1. a full-grown ox, cow, bull, or steer, esp. one bred and fattened for meat
  2. meat from such an animal; specif., a whole dressed carcass
  3. such animals collectively
  4. ☆ Informal
    1. human flesh or muscle
    2. strength; brawn
  5. ☆ Slang a complaint

Etymology: ME < OFr boef < L bos (gen. bovis), ox (apparently an Oscan-Umbrian cognate form, replacing L *vos) < IE *gwōus < base *gwou-: see cow

intransitive verb

Slang to complain or protest
beef Idioms

beef up

Informal to strengthen by addition, reinforcement, etc.

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

idioms beef idiom

beef Synonyms

beef

n.

  1. Bovine flesh used as food

    cow's flesh, steer beef, ox meat, red meat, cornfed beef, steak, hamburger, roast beef, pot roast, corned beef, pastrami, jerky, Kobe beef; see also meat.

  2. A grown animal of the genus Bos

    cow, bovine, bull, steer; see cow.

  3. *Human flesh

    flesh, brawn, meat*; see muscle.

  4. *A complaint

    dispute, protestation, gripe*; see objection 2.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

beef Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • mince: Heat rating: Medium Cooking instructions 1. Brown 500g lean minced beef in a frying pan.

Adjective modifier

  • corned: Oh, also i have found a corned beef which doesn''t contain milk or soya.

Modifies a noun

  • cattle: Report on the preferred food requirements for beef cattle on a beef property.

Noun used with modifier

  • roast: Sandwich choices consist of a roast beef au jus or roasted chicken.
beef usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

beef quotes

Oh! The roast beef of England, And old England's roast beef!

-Fielding, Henry

'Oh, where are you going to, all you Big Steamers, With England's own coal, up and down the salt seas?' 'We are going to fetch you your bread and your butter, Your beef, pork, and mutton, eggs, apples and cheese.'

-Kipling, (Joseph) Rudyard

Give but an Englishman his whore and ease, Beef and a sea-coal fire, he's yours forever.

-Otway,Thomas

beef quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"beef." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/beef>

APA Style

beef. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/beef

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