beef

noun

(uncountable) The meat from cattle or other bovines.

(in the meat industry, on product packaging) The edible portions of a cow (including those which are not meat).

(slang, uncountable or countable, 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)

(by extension, slang, uncountable) Muscle or musculature; size, strength or potency.

(figurative, slang, uncountable) Essence, content; the important part of a document or project.

(uncountable) Bovine animals.

(now chiefly Canada, US, countable, now uncommon, plural beeves) A bovine (cow or bull) being raised for its meat.

(Dorset) Fibrous calcite or limestone, especially when occurring in a jagged layer between shales in Dorset.

verb

(intransitive, slang) To complain.

(intransitive, slang) To fart; break wind.

(transitive, slang) To fail or mess up.

(chiefly African-American Vernacular, MLE, MTE, intransitive, slang) To feud or hold a grudge against.

(intransitive, slang, Australia) To sing or speak loudly; to cry out.

(transitive, slang) To add weight or strength to.

(intransitive, chiefly Yorkshire) To cry.

adjective

Being a bovine animal that is being raised for its meat.

Producing or known for raising lots of beef.

Consisting of or containing beef as an ingredient.

(slang) Beefy; powerful; robust.

Roots

bosbeef- · Latin · ox, cow

Synonyms for beef

beeves pastramin charqui cattlen bovineadj heifern cown

Synonyms & related words for beef

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of beef — including beeves, pastrami, charqui, cattle, bovine, heifer. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to beef

Explore words related to beef — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include cervelat, cattalo, meat, veal, pork, steak, sirloin, beefburger. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for beef

Common synonyms for beef include beeves, pastrami, charqui, cattle, bovine, heifer, cow — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does beef come from?

The word beef breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root beef, from Latin bos (“ox, cow”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.