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Bee vs Beef - What's the difference?

bee | beef |

As nouns the difference between bee and beef

is that bee is while beef is (uncountable) the meat from a cow, bull or other bovines.

As a verb beef is

to complain.

As an adjective beef is

being a bovine animal that is being raised for its meat.

bee

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) bee, from (etyl) ).

Noun

(s)
  • A flying insect, of the superfamily Apoidea, known for its organised societies and for collecting pollen and producing wax and honey.
  • *1499 , (John Skelton), The Bowge of Courte :
  • *:His face was belymmed as byes had him stounge.
  • *1590 , (Edmund Spenser), The Faerie Queene , III.12:
    • An angry Wasp th'one in a viall had, / Th'other in hers an hony-laden Bee .
  • *, II.12:
  • *:Can there be a more formall, and better ordered policie, divided into so severall charges and offices, more constantly entertained, and better maintained, than that of Bees ?
  • *2012 , ‘Subtle poison’, The Economist , 31 March:
  • *:Bees pollinate many of the world’s crops—a service estimated to be worth $15 billion a year in America alone.
    • Derived terms
    * bee-eater * beekeeper * beehive * beehouse * beeline * beeswax * bee's knees * bumblebee * honeybee * carpenter bee * have a bee in your bonnet * put the bee on * queen bee * stingless bee * sting like a bee * worker bee
    Synonyms
    *
    See also
    * apian * apiarian * apiarist * apiary * apimania * * * drone * dumbledore * hornet * honey * imbe * pollinator * wasp

    Etymology 2

    Possibly from dialectal (etyl) bene, been, .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A contest, especially for spelling; see spelling bee.
    • geography bee
  • A gathering for a specific purpose, e.g. a sewing bee or a quilting bee.
  • * S. G. Goodrich
    • The cellar was dug by a bee in a single day.
  • * 2011 , Tim Blanning, "The reinvention of the night", Times Literary Supplement , 21 Sep 2011:
    • Particularly resistant, for example, in many parts of northern Europe was the “spinning bee ”, a nocturnal gathering of women to exchange gossip, stories, refreshment and – crucially – light and heat, as they spun wool or flax, knitted or sewed.

    Etymology 3

    (Northern development of) (etyl) .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (obsolete) A ring or torque; a bracelet.
  • * 1485 , Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur , Book VII:
    • And Kynge Arthure gaff hir a ryche bye of golde; and so she departed.
  • * 1658 , Sir Thomas Browne, Urne-Burial , Penguin 2005, page 16:
    • ...restoring unto the world much gold richly adorning his Sword, two hundred Rubies, many hundred Imperial Coynes, three hundred golden Bees , the bones and horseshoe of his horse enterred with him...

    Etymology 4

    Variant spellings.

    Verb

    (head)
  • * 1604 Reverend Cawdrey Table Aleph
    • held that a ‘Nicholaitan is an heretike, like Nicholas, who held that wiues should bee common to all alike.’
  • (obsolete) ; been
    • (Spenser)

    Etymology 5

    Noun

    (en noun)
    • See also
    *

    Etymology 6

    Probably from an (etyl) word meaning "ring". See bow.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Any of the pieces of hard wood bolted to the sides of the bowsprit, to reeve the fore-topmast stays through.
    • Synonyms
    * bee block

    References

    English terms with multiple etymologies ----

    beef

    English

    (wikipedia beef)

    Noun

  • (uncountable) The meat from a cow, bull or other bovines.
    • I love eating beef .
  • # The edible portions of a cow (including those which are not meat).
  • lean finely textured beef
  • boneless lean beef trimmings
  • (uncountable) Bovine animals.
  • *
  • A single bovine (cow or bull) being raised for its meat.
    • Do you want to raise beeves ?
  • a grudge (+ with )
    • He has a beef with anyone who tells him otherwise.
    He has beef with anyone who tells him otherwise.
  • (slang, uncountable) muscle, size, strength
    • Put some beef into it! We've got to get the car over the bump.
    We've got to get some beef into the enforcement provisions of that law.
  • (slang, uncountable) essence, content
    • The beef of his paper was a long rant about government.

    Synonyms

    * (meat of a cow)

    Hyponyms

    * (meat of a cow) veal

    Derived terms

    * beefcake * beef jerky * beef on weck * beefsteak * beef stew * lean finely textured beef * boneless lean beef trimmings * beefy * bully beef * corned beef * where's the beef?

    Related terms

    *

    See also

    * beefwood

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To complain.
  • *
  • To add weight or strength to, usually as beef up.
    • Since you stopped running, you are really beefing out.
  • (slang) To fart.
    • Ugh, who just beefed in here?
  • (slang) To feud.
    • Those two are beefing right now - best you stay out of it for now.
  • (intransitive, chiefly, Yorkshire) To cry
    • David was beefing last night after Ruth told him off

    Derived terms

    * beef up * beef out

    Adjective

    (-)
  • Being a bovine animal that is being raised for its meat.
    • We bought three beef calves this morning.
  • Producing]] or known for raising lots of [[#Noun, beef.
    • beef farms
    beef country
  • Consisting]] of or containing [[#Noun, beef as an ingredient.
    • beef stew

    Related terms

    * beefy

    Anagrams

    * English nouns with irregular plurals English words with multiple plurals ----