Meanings
nounbum beef (plural bum beefs)
plural bum beefs
- USslangA criminal charge or accusation considered unfair, false, or without merit, especially by the accused.
“He can’t deny the murder of his wife.” “That was a bum beef, Arnie.”
1962, Ross Macdonald, The Zebra-Striped HearseSynonyms: bum rap
- USslangA disciplinary charge or punishment considered unfair by the prisoner.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA criminal charge or accusation considered unfair, false, or without merit, especially by the accused.
Similar
Origin
From bum + beef, with bum in the sense of “false, unfair, invalid” and beef in the slang sense of “a criminal charge”.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
bum beef. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bum%20beef
MLA
“bum beef.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bum%20beef. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bum beef,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bum%20beef.
Source: bum beef on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.