beef
Beef (noun) means the meat of cattle, used as food. Example: “We had roast beef for Sunday dinner.”
How to use beef
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishCattle meat — or, informally, a complaint or ongoing feud with someone.
The "grudge/complaint" sense is informal slang, common in everyday speech and hip-hop culture but not used in formal writing.
Word forms
beefed past tense, beef plural, beefs plural, beeves plural, beefs singular
Fill the gap
Can you complete this real example?
We had roast _____ for Sunday dinner.
Etymology
From Old French buef ("ox"), from Latin bovem, the same root that gives us "bovine." The slang sense meaning "a grudge" is American, first recorded as a verb ("to complain") in the late 1800s.
Related words
Rhymes for beef
See all rhymes for beef →Frequently asked questions
What does “beef” mean?
The word “beef” means the meat of cattle, used as food. In plain terms, cattle meat — or, informally, a complaint or ongoing feud with someone.
How do you pronounce “beef”?
“Beef” is pronounced beef (/bif/ in IPA).
How do you use “beef” in a sentence?
Here is “beef” used in a sentence: “We had roast beef for Sunday dinner.”
What part of speech is “beef”?
Depending on how it is used, “beef” can be a noun and a verb.
Where does the word “beef” come from?
The word “beef” dates back to around 1800 and comes from Latin. From Old French buef ("ox"), from Latin bovem, the same root that gives us "bovine." The slang sense meaning "a grudge" is American, first recorded as a verb ("to complain") in the late 1800s.
Is “beef” a common word?
“Beef” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.
How many meanings does “beef” have?
“Beef” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: the meat of cattle, used as food.
What is the difference between "beef" and "cow"?
A cow is the live animal, while beef is the meat that comes from cattle once it is prepared as food. English often uses different words for the animal and its meat, so you raise cows but eat beef.
Is "beef" countable or uncountable?
When beef refers to the meat, it is uncountable, so you say "some beef" rather than "a beef" or "beefs." When beef means a complaint or dispute, it becomes countable, as in "they have a beef with each other."
What are common collocations with "beef"?
Common food collocations include roast beef, minced or ground beef, corned beef, and beef stew. In the slang sense, people often say they "have a beef with" someone or want to "squash the beef."
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