as in complaining
to express dissatisfaction, pain, or resentment usually tiresomely
he tends to stand around and beef for hours about any slight, real or imagined
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of beefing
When the part of Season 2’s Austin came his way, Melton jumped at the chance to play one of the series’ beefing leads.
—
Elaina Patton, IndieWire, 17 Apr. 2026
Nader’s character Selene is a Zuma Beach lifeguard constantly beefing with new, grown up Hobie Buchanon, played by Stephen Amell.
—Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 9 Mar. 2026
Bill Maher and Jimmy Kimmel are beefing.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 13 Feb. 2026
Smith launched their original Slider sunglasses in 1995, leaning into the nineties silhouette and beefing it up with the first patented dual-lens interchangeable system.
—Lily Ritter, Outside, 14 Jan. 2026
Efforts at beefing them up priced them out of existence.
—Deni Ellis Béchard, Scientific American, 13 Jan. 2026
Injuries would be a concern, but this is a beefing-up-the-squad signing.
—Tim Spiers, New York Times, 2 Jan. 2026
The reason that Natalie and Kim are beefing is because Kim doesn’t like that Marcus and Natalie are becoming friends.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 10 Dec. 2025
Grocery behemoth Trader Joe’s and jam giant Smucker are beefing right now.
—Li Goldstein, Bon Appetit Magazine, 25 Oct. 2025
Elaina Patton, IndieWire, 17 Apr. 2026
Nader’s character Selene is a Zuma Beach lifeguard constantly beefing with new, grown up Hobie Buchanon, played by Stephen Amell.
—Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 9 Mar. 2026
Bill Maher and Jimmy Kimmel are beefing.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 13 Feb. 2026
Smith launched their original Slider sunglasses in 1995, leaning into the nineties silhouette and beefing it up with the first patented dual-lens interchangeable system.
—Lily Ritter, Outside, 14 Jan. 2026
Efforts at beefing them up priced them out of existence.
—Deni Ellis Béchard, Scientific American, 13 Jan. 2026
Injuries would be a concern, but this is a beefing-up-the-squad signing.
—Tim Spiers, New York Times, 2 Jan. 2026
The reason that Natalie and Kim are beefing is because Kim doesn’t like that Marcus and Natalie are becoming friends.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 10 Dec. 2025
Grocery behemoth Trader Joe’s and jam giant Smucker are beefing right now.
—Li Goldstein, Bon Appetit Magazine, 25 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for beefing
Verb
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Elsewhere, Super Mario Galaxy is hardly complaining about coming in second ruling the roost for weeks, since it’s now focused on becoming the first film of the year to join the billion-dollar club after finishing Sunday with a global total of $871 million.—
Pamela McClintock,
HollywoodReporter,
26 Apr. 2026
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The dog-waste donnybrook was similar to another recent clash in Brooklyn that saw a 75-year-old grandmother jumped and beaten for complaining that a dog walker was not cleaning up the pooch’s poop.—
Kerry Burke,
New York Daily News,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Richter’s grand slam Tuesday against Tinley Park ended with plenty of screaming and high-fives at home plate.—
Tony Baranek,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Apr. 2026
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Any passengers not knocked out during the chaos or sucked out into the sky are generally screaming and grabbing for oxygen masks while Captain Rich makes a futile announcement about the importance of not panicking.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Seattle families deal with this all the time, and the city is packed with indoor options that will keep your crew happy — no need to endure whining.—
Lauren Schuster,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
23 Apr. 2026
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On the other end, the Rockets were a complete mess, dissolving in two whining technical fouls in the third quarter that sealed their fate.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Beefing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/beefing. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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