adj · noun · verb · 24 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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From Middle English beef, bef, beof, borrowed from Anglo-Norman beof, Old French buef, boef (“ox”) (modern French bœuf); from Latin bovem (“ox”), from Proto-Italic *gwōs, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gwṓws. Doublet of cow. Beef in the sense of “a grudge, argument” was originally an American slang expression: * attested as a verb “to complain” in 1888: “He'll beef an' kick like a steer an' let on he won't never wear 'em.”— New York World, 13 May; * attested as a noun “complaint, protest, grievance, sim.” in 1899: “He made a Horrible Beef because he couldn't get Loaf Sugar for his Coffee.”—Fables in Slang (1900) by George Ade, page 80. As to the possible origin of this American usage, it has been suggested that it can be traced back to a British expression for “alarm”, first recorded in 1725: "BEEF 'to alarm, as To cry beef upon us; they have discover'd us, and are in Pursuit of us". The term "beef" in this context would be a Cockney rhyming slang of thief. However, the continuous use of a similar expression, including its assumed semantic shift to 'complaint' in the United States from the 1880s onwards, needs further clarification.
Across languages
Translations
173 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Bulgarian:
гове́жди
(govéždi)
— having beef as an ingredient
Polish:
wołowy
— having beef as an ingredient
Russian:
говя́жий
(govjážij)
— having beef as an ingredient
Afrikaans:
beesvleis
— meat
Ahom:
𑜃𑜢𑜤𑜰𑜫 𑜑𑜥
(nü0 hū)
— meat
Albanian:
mish lope
— meat
Southern Altai:
бозуныҥ эди
(bozunïŋ edi)
— meat
Southern Altai:
уйдыҥ эди
(uydïŋ edi)
— meat
Western Apache:
magashi bitsiʼ
— meat
Arabic:
لَحْم بَقَر
(laḥm baqar)
— meat
Armenian:
տավարի միս
(tavari mis)
— meat
Basque:
behiki
— meat
Belarusian:
я́лавічына
(jálavičyna)
— meat
Bourbonnais-Berrichon:
bϞ
— meat
Breton:
bevin
— meat
Bulgarian:
гове́ждо
(govéždo)
— meat
Burmese:
အမဲသား
(a.mai:sa:)
— meat
Catalan:
vedella
— meat
Cherokee:
ᏩᎦ ᎭᏫᏯ
(waga hawiya)
— meat
Chinese Cantonese:
牛肉
(ngau4 juk6)
— meat
Chinese:
牛肉
(zh-min-nan)
— meat
Chinese Mandarin:
牛肉
(niúròu)
— meat
Cornish:
bewin
— meat
Cornish:
kig bewin
— meat
Cornish:
kig bowin
— meat
Corsican:
boie
— meat
Corsican:
boiu
— meat
Corsican:
boi
— meat
Czech:
hovězí
— meat
Danish:
oksekød
— meat
Dutch:
bief
— meat
Dutch:
biefstuk
— meat
Dutch:
rundvlees
— meat
Esperanto:
bovaĵo
— meat
Estonian:
veiseliha
— meat
Faroese:
neytakjøt
— meat
Finnish:
naudanliha
— meat
Finnish:
häränliha
— meat
French:
bœuf
— meat
West-Frisian:
kowefleis
— meat
Galician:
carne
— meat
Georgian:
ძროხის
(ʒroxis)
— meat
German:
Rindfleisch
— meat
German:
Ochsenfleisch
— meat
Greek:
βοδινό
(vodinó)
— meat
Greenlandic:
nersussuup neqaa
— meat
Gujarati:
ગોમાંસ
(gomā̃s)
— meat
Hebrew:
בָּקָר
— meat
Hindi:
गोमांस
(gomāns)
— meat
Hindi:
गोश्त
(gośt)
— meat
Hungarian:
marhahús
— meat
Icelandic:
nautakjöt
— meat
Ido:
bovokarno
— meat
Indonesian:
daging sapi
— meat
Irish:
mairteoil
— meat
Italian:
manzo
— meat
Italian:
carne bovina
— meat
Japanese:
牛肉
(gyūniku)
— meat
Japanese:
ビーフ
(bīfu)
— meat
Kazakh:
сиыр еті
(siyr etı)
— meat
Khakas:
інек иді
(ìnek idì)
— meat
Khmer:
សាច់គោ
(sac koo)
— meat
Korean:
쇠고기
(soegogi)
— meat
Korean:
소고기
(sogogi)
— meat
Korean:
-우
(-u)
— meat
Korean:
우육
(uyuk)
— meat
Kyrgyz:
уй эти
(uy eti)
— meat
Lao:
ຊີ້ນງົວ
(sīn ngūa)
— meat
Lao:
ເນຶ້ອງົວ
(nưa ngūa)
— meat
Latin:
būbula
— meat
Latvian:
liellopa gaļa
— meat
Latvian:
vērša gaļa
— meat
Lithuanian:
jautiena
— meat
Luxembourgish:
Rëndfleesch
— meat
Macedonian:
говедско
(govedsko)
— meat
Macedonian:
телешко
(teleško)
— meat
Macedonian:
јунешко
(juneško)
— meat
Malay:
daging lembu
— meat
Malay:
daging
— meat
Maltese:
ċanga
— meat
Manx:
feill vart
— meat
Māori:
kiko kau
— meat
Māori:
mīti kau
— meat
Māori:
pīwhi
— meat
Marathi:
गोमांस
(gomāusa)
— meat
Mauritian Creole:
bef
— meat
Middle English:
bef
— meat
Mongolian:
үхрийн
(üxriin)
— meat
Navajo:
béégashii bitsįʼ
— meat
Nepali:
बीउ
(bīu)
— meat
Norman:
viande dé vaque
— meat
Norwegian Bokmål:
storfekjøtt
— meat
Norwegian Bokmål:
oksekjøtt
— meat
Norwegian Nynorsk:
storfekjøt
— meat
Norwegian Nynorsk:
storfekjøtt
— meat
Norwegian Nynorsk:
oksekjøt
— meat
Norwegian Nynorsk:
oksekjøtt
— meat
Occitan:
buòu
— meat
Persian:
گوشت گاو
(gušt-e gâv)
— meat
Plautdietsch:
Rintfleesch
— meat
Polish:
wołowina
— meat
Portuguese:
carne de vaca
— meat
Portuguese:
carne bovina
— meat
Portuguese:
carne
— meat
Quechua:
waka aycha
— meat
Romanian:
vită
— meat
Romansh:
charn-bov
— meat
Russian:
говя́дина
(govjádina)
— meat
Russian:
теля́тина
(teljátina)
— meat
Northern Sami:
vuovssábiergu
— meat
Northern Sami:
šibitbiergu
— meat
Northern Sami:
oamebiergu
— meat
Samoan:
povi
— meat
Samoan:
fāsipovi
— meat
Sanskrit:
गोमांस
(gomāṃsa)
— meat
Scottish Gaelic:
mairtfheòil
— meat
Serbo-Croatian:
говедина
— meat
Serbo-Croatian:
телетина
— meat
Serbo-Croatian:
јунетина
— meat
Serbo-Croatian:
govedina
— meat
Serbo-Croatian:
teletina
— meat
Serbo-Croatian:
junetina
— meat
Shor:
нек эди
(nek edi)
— meat
Sindhi:
ٻوڙا
(ḇoṛā)
— meat
Sinhalese:
හරක් මස්
(harak mas)
— meat
Slovak:
hovädzie
— meat
Slovene:
govedina
— meat
Slovene:
teletina
— meat
Lower Sorbian:
gowjeze měso
— meat
Lower Sorbian:
gowjezyna
— meat
Upper Sorbian:
howjaze mjaso
— meat
Spanish:
carne de res
— meat
Spanish:
carne de vaca
— meat
Spanish:
carne bovina
— meat
Spanish:
rotí
— meat
Spanish:
matagón
— meat
Swahili:
nyama ya ng'ombe
— meat
Swedish:
nötkött
— meat
Tagalog:
karneng baka
— meat
Thai:
เนื้อวัว
(nʉ́ʉa-wuua)
— meat
Thai:
เนื้อ
(nʉ́ʉa)
— meat
Turkish:
sığır eti
— meat
Turkish:
dana eti
— meat
Ukrainian:
я́ловичина
(jálovyčyna)
— meat
Urdu:
گوشت
— meat
Uyghur:
كالا گۆشى
(kala göshi)
— meat
Vietnamese:
thịt bò
— meat
Volapük:
bubamit
— meat
Walloon:
boû
— meat
Welsh:
cig eidion
— meat
Welsh:
bîff
— meat
Woiwurrung:
bulanga
— meat
Yiddish:
רינדפֿלייש
(rindfleysh)
— meat
Zhuang:
laeblaz
— meat
Chinese Mandarin:
牢騷 /牢骚
(láosāo)
— grudge; dislike