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
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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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So, what Rodriguez and Cohen Higgins are complaining about is what happens four and five years or even ten years down the line.—
Jim DeFede,
CBS News,
17 May 2026
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Follow these mowing etiquette tips to avoid being the one that your neighbors are complaining about on Reddit.—
Leanne Potts,
Better Homes & Gardens,
16 May 2026
Verb
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Her father and cousin had come looking for her, and were screaming outside.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
19 May 2026
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Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong let a rival fan have it during a heated, NSFW screaming match on Sunday, playing the White Sox.—
Alejandro Avila OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
18 May 2026
Verb
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Last week, the whining noise of unmanned flying objects could be heard in the city of Moscow once again.—
Anne Applebaum,
The Atlantic,
11 May 2026
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Luke's demise and Boyega's whining about the Black stormtrooper weren't the only reasons Disney's three movies failed.—
Zach Dean OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
8 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Beefing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/beefing. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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