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short ribs

short ribs

11 2.7
A cut of beef from the ribs near the breastbone often cooked slowly
  • noun
  • /ʃɔrt rɪbz/
translation icon : costillas cortas
  • The sweet and smoky aroma of slow-cooked braised short ribs wafted across the restaurant.
  • braised short ribs
  • beef short ribs
  • pounds of short ribs

And this is actually, let me, this is a Korean BBQ short rib burrito.

Examples

  • The Chelsea Chowder House is known for its short ribs.

    Blog text (22)
  • It's a real mouthful of dark, savory, supple cabernet that would be terrific with braised short ribs or lamb shanks.

    Blog text (30)
  • Got some short ribs cooking.

  • In hindsight, short ribs would have been better for the added fat.

    Blog text (2)
  • Once that is brown add the short ribs and veggies to the crock pot.

  • My mother was marinating short ribs for a kalbi barbecue.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Serve the short ribs with the carrots, onions, mushrooms, and sauce.

    Blog text (1)
  • We're doing some braised short ribs with Yukon gold potatoes and Brussels sprouts.

  • I found the braised prime short ribs a little too salty for pleasure.

Synonyms

rib
vsshort ribs
121 1.4

A cut of meat that includes a bone from the animal's chest

is a specific beef cut from near the breastbone used for braising or roasting
chuck short ribs
vsshort ribs
  • Specialized
5.0

A piece of beef from near the shoulder with short bones and meat for slow cooking

is from nearer the breastbone rather than from the chuck and brisket area

How Tender

tenderloin
  • Specialized
17 3.7
ribeye
8 2.9
chuck short ribs
  • Specialized
5.0
short ribs
11 2.7
brisket
26 4.1
shank
9 5.8

Surface Forms

short ribs singular
short ribs plural
short rib singular

Morphology

short + rib

The phrase is compositionally transparent: 'short' simply modifies 'ribs', so a learner who knows 'short' (small in length) and 'rib' (a meat/bone cut) can infer it refers to ribs that are short — i.e., a particular cut of meat. The culinary usage (braising/roasting) is a pragmatic detail and does not make the meaning idiomatic or unpredictable.

Etymology

Short ribs comes from how the meat is cut: the rib bones are cut into short pieces, so the name joins short and ribs. That's why short ribs today means the small sections of beef from the rib area that are often 'cooked slowly' until 'tender'.