beef

beef (b

n. pl. beeves (b

vz) or beef

a. A full-grown steer, bull, ox, or cow, especially one intended for use as meat.

b. The flesh of a slaughtered full-grown steer, bull, ox, or cow.

2. Informal Human muscle; brawn.

3. pl. beefs Slang A complaint.

intr.v. beefed, beef·ing, beefs Slang

To complain.

Phrasal Verb:

beef up Informal

To make or become greater or stronger: beef up the defense budget.

[Middle English, from Old French buef, from Latin bs, bov-; see g^wou- in Indo-European roots.]

Word History: That beef comes from cows is known to most, but the close relationship between the words beef and cow is hardly household knowledge. Cow comes via Middle English from Old English c, which is descended from the Indo-European root *g^wou-, also meaning "cow." This root has descendants in most of the branches of the Indo-European language family. Among those descendants is the Latin word bs, "cow," whose stem form, bov-, eventually became the Old French word buef, also meaning "cow." The French nobles who ruled England after the Norman Conquest of course used French words to refer to the meats they were served, so the animal called c by the Anglo-Saxon peasants was called buef by the French nobles when it was brought to them cooked at dinner. Thus arose the distinction between the words for animals and their meat that is also found in the English word-pairs swine/pork, sheep/mutton, and deer/venison. What is interesting about cow/beef is that we are in fact dealing with one and the same word, etymologically speaking.

beef

Noun

1. the flesh of a cow, bull, or ox

2. Slang a complaint

Verb

Slang to complain

See also beef up [Old French boef, from Latin bos ox]

ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms

Noun	1.	beef - cattle that are reared for their meat beef cattle Bos taurus, cattle, cows, kine, oxen - domesticated bovine animals as a group regardless of sex or age; "so many head of cattle"; "wait till the cows come home"; "seven thin and ill-favored kine"- Bible; "a team of oxen" longhorn, Texas longhorn - long-horned beef cattle formerly common in southwestern United States Santa Gertrudis - Brahman and shorthorn crossbreed of red cattle; hardy in hot regions Aberdeen Angus, black Angus, Angus - black hornless breed from Scotland Charolais - large white or cream-colored breed from France shorthorn, Durham - English breed of short-horned cattle Galloway - breed of hardy black chiefly beef cattle native to Scotland Hereford, whiteface - hardy English breed of dairy cattle raised extensively in United States beefalo, cattalo - hardy breed of cattle resulting from crossing domestic cattle with the American buffalo; yields leaner beef than conventional breeds
	2.	beef - meat from an adult domestic bovine boeuf Bos taurus, cattle, cows, kine, oxen - domesticated bovine animals as a group regardless of sex or age; "so many head of cattle"; "wait till the cows come home"; "seven thin and ill-favored kine"- Bible; "a team of oxen" meat - the flesh of animals (including fishes and birds and snails) used as food cut of beef - cut of meat from beef cattle beef loin - cut of meat from a loin of beef ground beef, hamburger - beef that has been ground bully beef, corn beef, corned beef - beef cured or pickled in brine pastrami - highly seasoned cut of smoked beef
	3.	beef - informal terms for objecting; "I have a gripe about the service here" gripe, squawk, bitch, kick objection - the speech act of objecting
Verb	1.	beef - complain; "What was he hollering about?" bellyache, bitch, gripe, grouse, squawk, holler, crab kvetch, plain, quetch, complain, sound off, kick - express complaints, discontent, displeasure, or unhappiness; "My mother complains all day"; "She has a lot to kick about"