Wagyu

noun

Wa·​gyu ˈwä-(ˌ)gyü 

variants or less commonly wagyu

plural Wagyu also wagyu

1

: any of four strains of a breed of black or red Japanese cattle valued for their highly marbled meat

In the U.S., Japanese Wagyu cows have been crossbred with those of other breeds to produce unsurpassably tender, melt-in-your-mouth beef.

—Saveur

Note: Wagyu were developed in Japan in the late 1800s to 1910 by crossbreeding native cattle with European breeds.

2

or Wagyu beef or less commonly wagyu beef : beef from Wagyu cattle

The surface of my Wagyu was intricately laced with delicate veins of off-white fat—by laboratory measurement, three times more marbling fat than U.S. prime-grade beef, though with slightly less cholesterol.

—Jeffrey Steingarten

Wagyu beef is tender and flavorful because of its intramuscular fat, or marbling.

—Sam Gugino

compare kobe beef

Examples of Wagyu in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The menu boasts enormous steaks — an 18 ounce prime ribeye, a 10 ounce prime filet and a 16 ounce Wagyu NY strip — plus spatchcocked branzino; a grand seafood platter stacked with colossal shrimp, crab cocktail, raw oysters, ceviche and lobster tail; and traditional Osetra caviar service. —Heidi Finley, Charlotte Observer, 30 Jan. 2025

And there are skewers, as there have to be: One with Wagyu top sirloin marinated in pomegranate-ginger syrup, another with ground lamb and mint and another with springy chunks of king-trumpet mushrooms. —John Metcalfe, The Mercury News, 24 Jan. 2025

The property makes all its dog food in-house, with a Wagyu beef option on the menu, senior marketing manager Nahal Aghajani told The Wall Street Journal. —Nicole Hoey, Robb Report, 21 Jan. 2025

Live-fire technique continues to enhance the new menu of American Prime steaks and Japanese Wagyu steak frites, prime rib sandwiches, burgers and roasted bone marrow. —Claudia Alarcón, Forbes, 8 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Japanese wagyū, from wa "Japan, Japanese" + gyū "cattle, cow"

First Known Use

1963, in the meaning defined at sense 1