Meaning of “beef” in the English Dictionary

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"beef" in English

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beefnoun

uk ​ /biːf/ us ​ /biːf/

beef noun (MEAT)

B1 [ U ] the flesh of cattle (= cows), eaten as food:

The spaghetti sauce is made with minced (US ground) beef.
People in England often have roast beef and Yorkshire pudding for lunch on Sundays.
He is a beef cattle farmer.

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beef noun (FORCE)

› [ U ] mainly UK informal strength, power, or force:

He said that the newly published government report didn't have much beef in it.
Push harder! Put some beef into it!

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beefverb [ I ]

uk ​ /biːf/ us ​ /biːf/ informal

Phrasal verb(s)

beef sth up

(Definition of “beef” from the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

"beef" in American English

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beefnoun

us ​ /bif/

beef noun (MEAT)

› [ U ] the flesh of cattle eaten as meat:

a roast beef sandwich

beef noun (COMPLAINT)

› [ C ] slang a complaint:

My beef is, how come I’m not making as much as you?

beefverb [ I ]

us ​ /bif/ slang

beef verb [ I ] (COMPLAIN)

› to complain:

Stop beefing about having to work late – you’re not the only one.

Phrasal verb(s)

beef up something

(Definition of “beef” from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

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