beef

beef (biːf)

—n , beeves, beefs
1.	the flesh of various bovine animals, esp the cow, when killed for eating
2.	an adult ox, bull, cow, etc, reared for its meat
3.	informal human flesh, esp when muscular
4.	a complaint

—vb (often foll by up)
5.	slang (intr) to complain, esp repeatedly: he was beefing about his tax
6.	informal to strengthen; reinforce

[C13: from Old French boef, from Latin bōs ox; see cow¹]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

beef

c.1300, from O.Fr. buef (11c., Mod.Fr. boeuf), from L. bovem (nom. bos, gen. bovis) "ox, cow," from PIE base *gwou- "cow, ox, bull" (see cow (n.)). Original plural was beeves.

beef

"to complain," slang, 1888, Amer.Eng., from noun meaning "complaint" (1880s). The noun meaning "argument" is recorded from 1930s. The origin and signification are unclear; perhaps it traces to the common late 19c. complaint of U.S. soldiers about the quantity or quality of beef rations.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

beef definition

n.
a complaint; a quarrel. : I gotta beef against you.
n.
a criminal charge or complaint. : The beef is that you appear to have left the bank Monday with about seventy-five grand that isn't yours. That's the beef!
n.
a large and muscular male. : Let's get one of those beefs in here to help.
in.
to complain. : What's he beefing about now?
in.
to break wind; to release intestinal gas audibly. (Usually objectionable.) : Willy warned everybody that he was going to beef.
n.
an act of breaking wind. (Usually objectionable.) : All right! Who's beef was that?
in.
to crack up and get injured as in a skateboard accident. : Chuck beefed and wrecked his elbow.

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

beef

In addition to the idiom beginning with beef, also see where's the beef.