beef
beef1 S3 /biːf/
noun
roast beef
We have both dairy and beef cattle on the farm.
2. [countable] informal a complaint:
OK, so what’s the beef this time?
3. where’s the beef? American English spoken used when you think someone’s promises sound good, but you want to know what they actually plan to do
⇨ corned beef
beef2
verb [intransitive]
informal to complain a lot
beef about
They’re always beefing about something.
beef something ↔ up phrasal verb informal
to improve something or make it more interesting, more important etc:
a beefed-up news story
We need to beef the campaign up.
| I |
noun Date: 1100-1200
Language: Old French
Origin: buef, from Latin bos 'ox'
1. [uncountable] the meat from a cow:Language: Old French
Origin: buef, from Latin bos 'ox'
2. [countable] informal a complaint:
3. where’s the beef? American English spoken used when you think someone’s promises sound good, but you want to know what they actually plan to do
⇨ corned beef
| II |
verb [intransitive]informal to complain a lot
beef about
beef something ↔ up phrasal verb informal
to improve something or make it more interesting, more important etc: