Beef is meat that comes from cattle (cows and bulls). When you eat a hamburger, a steak, or roast beef, you're eating beef. The word comes from an old French word that entered English after the Norman Conquest in 1066. Interestingly, English kept the word “cow” for the living animal (from Anglo-Saxon farmers) but adopted “beef” for the meat (from French-speaking nobles who ate it).

Beef has been a staple food in many cultures for thousands of years. Different cuts of beef, like ribeye, brisket, or sirloin, come from different parts of the animal and have distinct flavors and textures. Ground beef is beef that's been chopped into tiny pieces, often used for hamburgers, tacos, or spaghetti sauce.

The word also has a completely different meaning in informal speech: to have a beef with someone means to have a complaint or disagreement with them. If two students have beef, they're in some kind of conflict or argument. You might say, “What's your beef with this plan?” meaning “What's your problem with it?”