beef

Everyday

1. The meat from a cow, bull or ox. tree →
2. (slang) A complaint or a quarrel with someone (What's your beef? He has beef with me). tree →
3. (informal) Muscle or strength. tree →
4. To beef up: to make something stronger or bigger. tree →
5. (informal) To beef: to complain. tree →

In the lessons

In everyday life: beef burgers, roast beef, minced beef. In science and food lessons: beef comes from cattle and gives protein. In slang, «beef» is an argument between people. Phrases: beef up, what's your beef?, roast beef.

Examples

• We had roast beef for Sunday lunch. tree →
• Beef comes from cows. tree →
• The burger is made of minced beef. tree →
• What's your beef with me? (slang) tree →
• The two rappers have had beef for ages. (slang) tree →
• The team beefed up its defence. tree →
• Stop beefing about the homework! (informal) tree →
• I hate cow-beef; it is not tender enough for me. tree →

Note

Meat sense is uncountable: some beef. Pork is from pigs, lamb from sheep, beef from cattle. The slang plural for complaints is «beefs». A «beefy» person is big and strong.

In Jewish tradition

In the Torah this word means cattle, the oxen and cows counted among the animals taken as spoil from Midian; the plural "beeves" means several head of cattle.

Interpretation. The tradition counts the spoil and sets aside a share for the LORD and for the Levites, teaching that even war gains are to be shared and dedicated.

Examples

• and threescore and twelve thousand beeves, (Torah NUM.31.33, JPS 1917) tree →
• and thirty and six thousand beeves, (Torah NUM.31.44, JPS 1917) tree →
• And the beeves were thirty and six thousand, of which the LORD'S tribute was threescore and twelve. (Torah NUM.31.38, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Meat sense is uncountable: some beef. Pork is from pigs, lamb from sheep, beef from cattle. The slang plural for complaints is «beefs». A «beefy» person is big and strong.