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# beef

noun (beef, uncountable; a beef, beefs — complaint); verb (beef up, beefs, beefed)

«beef» in the English dictionary: everyday and in Jewish tradition — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. The meat from a cow, bull or ox. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/beef/#m1)
2. (slang) A complaint or a quarrel with someone (What's your beef? He has beef with me). [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/beef/#m2)
3. (informal) Muscle or strength. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/beef/#m3)
4. To beef up: to make something stronger or bigger. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/beef/#m4)
5. (informal) To beef: to complain. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/beef/#m5)

### 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 →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/beef/#x1)
- Beef comes from cows. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/beef/#x2)
- The burger is made of minced beef. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/beef/#x3)
- What's your beef with me? (slang) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/beef/#x4)
- The two rappers have had beef for ages. (slang) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/beef/#x5)
- The team beefed up its defence. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/beef/#x6)
- Stop beefing about the homework! (informal) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/beef/#x7)
- I hate cow-beef; it is not tender enough for me. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/beef/#x8)

### 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 →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/B/beef/#x1)
- and thirty and six thousand beeves, (Torah NUM.31.44, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/B/beef/#x2)
- 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 →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/B/beef/#x3)

### 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.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «beef» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/beef/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«beef» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/beef.html) on Mova free.
- [Trees and pragmatics of «beef» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/B/beef/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«beef» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/judaism/w/beef.html) on Mova free.