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Glite Dictionary
beefy

beefy

16 4.0
A large strong person or animal with big, heavy muscles
  • adjective
  • /ˈbiːfi/
translation icon : fornido
  • The beefy man lifted the heavy weights effortlessly at the gym.

Joining me is my beefiest boy, Ryan Garcia.

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Examples

  • Captain had been beefy, you could tell, the spread of his shoulders, the size of his hands.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • George stood by the office door, beefy arms folded across his chest.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • Do you want to race me, beefy boy?

    Fat Albert (2004)

  • Big, beefy things, I suppose.

    A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

  • But I also like them big and beefy.

    Ken Park (2003)

  • One of the two loud, beefy men at the bar was giving her the bold eye.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • Later that day, Harley and Rob, his beefy blond deputy, arrived.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • Ernie, the nephew, was a beefy, muscular guy, and we made short work of the loading.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • The park ranger is a beefy man in his late fifties and talks with emotionless, military precision.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • Steadily, he walked toward her, a beefy man whose bulk strained his jacket and smelled of sweat.

    Fiction book (1999)

Synonyms

burly
vsbeefy
24 4.6

A large, strong person with heavy muscles

focuses more on muscular shape and robust appearance than sheer size
stocky
vsbeefy
20 2.8

Short and wide in body with a solid build

emphasizes heavy muscle and large robustness rather than shortness
chunky
vsbeefy
14 3.4

Short and thick in shape, with a strong, solid look

focuses more on muscle size and robust strength than rounded thickness
husky
vsbeefy
10 3.3

A person who is big and strong

is used broadly for any large, strong, robust body
muscly
vsbeefy
  • Informal
2 3.7

A person with large, strong muscles

highlights overall large, heavily built robustness beyond just muscle definition
strapping
vsbeefy
1 4.4

A person who is tall and strongly built

usually indicates strong, broad build without implying tallness
muscled
vsbeefy
3.0

Having a strong body like a fit athlete

stresses broad heavy build and robust size rather than only muscle prominence

Antonyms

weak
524 1.0

Not strong in body or muscles and easily tired

skinny
298 1.3

Very thin in a way that looks unhealthy

How Muscular

hulking
1 5.5
burly
24 4.6
beefy
16 4.0
muscular
49 2.8

Surface Forms

beefy positive

Morphology

beefy = beef (transparent) = beef + y

Formed by adding the productive adjectival suffix '-y' to 'beef', meaning 'having qualities of beef' (i.e., meaty or muscular), a clear derivation for learners.

Etymology

Beefy comes from beef ('meat from a cow') and the ending -y ('full of'). So calling someone beefy is like saying they are 'full of beef', meaning thick, muscular and strong, which is why beefy means large and heavily built.