Illustration of beef
- A wholesale cuts
beef
1 of 2noun
ˈbēf 
plural beefs ˈbēfs or beeves ˈbēvz
or beeves ˈbēvz 1
: the flesh of an adult domestic bovine (such as a steer or cow) used as food
2
a
: an ox, cow, or bull in a full-grown or nearly full-grown state
especially : a steer or cow fattened for food
quality Texas beeves
a herd of good beef
b
: a dressed carcass of a beef animal
3
: muscular flesh : brawn
4
plural beefs : complaint
beef
2 of 2verb
beefed; beefing; beefs
transitive verb
: to increase or add substance, strength, or power to —usually used with up
money to beef up its staff of professional economists
John Fischer
John Fischerintransitive verb
: complain
always beefing about something
Synonyms
Noun
- bitch
- bleat
- carp
- complaint
- fuss
- grievance
- gripe
- grouch
- grouse
- grumble
- holler
- kvetch
- lament
- miserere
- moan
- murmur
- plaint
- squawk
- wail
- whimper
- whine
- whinge [British]
- yammer
Verb
- bellyache
- bitch
- bleat
- carp
- caterwaul
- complain
- crab
- croak
- fuss
- gripe
- grizzle
- grouch
- grouse
- growl
- grumble
- grump
- holler
- inveigh
- keen
- kick
- kvetch
- maunder [chiefly British]
- moan
- murmur
- mutter
- nag
- repine
- scream
- squawk
- squeal
- wail
- whimper
- whine
- whinge [British]
- yammer
- yawp
- yaup
- yowl
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Noun I'm not eating as much beef as I used to. My real beef is with the organization's president, not the group itself. Verb She's always beefing about something. he tends to stand around and beef for hours about any slight, real or imagined
Recent Examples on the Web Chris Smith, BGR, 14 Sep. 2022 Still, the agency fears that affected HelloFresh ground beef could be in some consumers' freezers. Wyatte Grantham-philips, USA TODAY, 13 Sep. 2022 Ground beef is a common cause of E. coli transmission. Marisa Iati, Washington Post, 13 Sep. 2022 Sherman clicked to a slide depicting fry bread, also known as Indian tacos, which is like unsweetened funnel cake, served with toppings such as cheese and ground beef. Carolyn Kormann, The New Yorker, 12 Sep. 2022 The ground beef in question was shipped to consumers in meal kits from July 2 to 21. Aria Bendix, NBC News, 12 Sep. 2022 And the rewards for helping with his show start with a package of old ground beef and go downhill from there. Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 8 Sep. 2022 The Pub’s Bacon Burger is hand-patted with fresh ground beef, topped with cheese and bacon, served with greens, red onion and mayo for $16. Ben Flanagan | Bflanagan@al.com, al, 7 Sep. 2022 The third meal is pasta and meatballs made with lean ground beef, totalling 600 calories. Philip Ellis, Men's Health, 21 Aug. 2022 Frank Jordans, BostonGlobe.com, 30 Aug. 2022 Election supervisors are hoping magic happens Tuesday at the polls to beef up some of the voting numbers. Lisa J. Huriash, Sun Sentinel, 22 Aug. 2022 Proponents said the extra money was needed to beef up city services and address the region’s homelessness crisis by potentially hiring 20 additional cops. San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Aug. 2022 The plan includes $80 billion for the Internal Revenue Service, used to beef up tax enforcement and improve the agency's technology to support enforcement activities. Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 16 Sep. 2021 Money earmarked for the medical school, for instance, can’t be used to beef up transfer student support. Teresa Watanabe, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2021 Emergency kit manufacturer Uncharted Supply used it to beef up its marketing and advertising spending. Courtney Holden, Outside Online, 2 Apr. 2021 But all the studios have used their own libraries to beef up their streaming services, and the series is expected to shift to HBO Max at some point in the future. Brian Lowry, CNN, 25 Aug. 2020 The bill also directs $80 billion in funding to the IRS, aimed at helping the underfunded agency hire more auditors and beef up its customer service and technology. Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 12 Aug. 2022 See More
Noun
Magnolia Provision Company’s recall of certain beef jerky products is the latest example. Chris Smith, BGR, 14 Sep. 2022 Still, the agency fears that affected HelloFresh ground beef could be in some consumers' freezers. Wyatte Grantham-philips, USA TODAY, 13 Sep. 2022 Ground beef is a common cause of E. coli transmission. Marisa Iati, Washington Post, 13 Sep. 2022 Sherman clicked to a slide depicting fry bread, also known as Indian tacos, which is like unsweetened funnel cake, served with toppings such as cheese and ground beef. Carolyn Kormann, The New Yorker, 12 Sep. 2022 The ground beef in question was shipped to consumers in meal kits from July 2 to 21. Aria Bendix, NBC News, 12 Sep. 2022 And the rewards for helping with his show start with a package of old ground beef and go downhill from there. Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 8 Sep. 2022 The Pub’s Bacon Burger is hand-patted with fresh ground beef, topped with cheese and bacon, served with greens, red onion and mayo for $16. Ben Flanagan | Bflanagan@al.com, al, 7 Sep. 2022 The third meal is pasta and meatballs made with lean ground beef, totalling 600 calories. Philip Ellis, Men's Health, 21 Aug. 2022 Verb
France, like other European countries, is trying to beef up its gas reserves for winter and fill up its storage by early autumn to avert an economic and political crisis over energy. Frank Jordans, BostonGlobe.com, 30 Aug. 2022 Election supervisors are hoping magic happens Tuesday at the polls to beef up some of the voting numbers. Lisa J. Huriash, Sun Sentinel, 22 Aug. 2022 Proponents said the extra money was needed to beef up city services and address the region’s homelessness crisis by potentially hiring 20 additional cops. San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Aug. 2022 The plan includes $80 billion for the Internal Revenue Service, used to beef up tax enforcement and improve the agency's technology to support enforcement activities. Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 16 Sep. 2021 Money earmarked for the medical school, for instance, can’t be used to beef up transfer student support. Teresa Watanabe, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2021 Emergency kit manufacturer Uncharted Supply used it to beef up its marketing and advertising spending. Courtney Holden, Outside Online, 2 Apr. 2021 But all the studios have used their own libraries to beef up their streaming services, and the series is expected to shift to HBO Max at some point in the future. Brian Lowry, CNN, 25 Aug. 2020 The bill also directs $80 billion in funding to the IRS, aimed at helping the underfunded agency hire more auditors and beef up its customer service and technology. Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 12 Aug. 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English, from Anglo-French beof, bef ox, beef, from Latin bov-, bos head of cattle — more at cow
Verb
verbal derivative of beef entry 1
First Known Use
Noun
13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
1860, in the meaning defined at transitive sense
Phrases Containing beef
Kids Definition
beef 1 of 2
noun
ˈbēf
plural beefs
ˈbēfs
or beeves ˈbēvz
1
: the meat of a steer, cow, or bull
2
: a steer, cow, or bull especially when fattened for food
3
plural beefs : complaint sense 2
beef
2 of 2verb
beefed; beefing
: complain
He's always beefing about something.
Medical Definition
beef
noun
ˈbēf
plural beefs ˈbēfs or beeves ˈbēvz
or beeves ˈbēvz : the flesh of an adult domestic bovine (as a steer or cow) used as food
beefing
verb
as in complaining
to express dissatisfaction, pain, or resentment usually tiresomely he tends to stand around and beef for hours about any slight, real or imagined Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- complaining
- screaming
- whining
- kicking
- bitching
- moaning
- muttering
- worrying
- yammering
- growling
- griping
- grousing
- hollering
- squawking
- grumbling
- bellyaching
- inveighing
- kvetching
- nagging
- caterwauling
- bleating
- crying
- carping
- protesting
- wailing
- fussing
- squealing
- murmuring
- whimpering
- grouching
- whinging
- yowling
- yawping
- grizzling
- crabbing
- grumping
- keening
- kicking up a stink
- repining
- whingeing
- kicking up a fuss
- yauping
- croaking
- stewing
- maundering
- quibbling
- fretting
- lamenting
- caviling
- sobbing
- bemoaning
- deploring
- blubbering
- cavilling
- quarrelling (with)
- bewailing
- quarreling (with)
- objecting (to)
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- taking
- rejoicing
- accepting
- tolerating
- delighting
- bearing
- crowing
- enduring
- commending
- applauding
- countenancing
- cheering