A steak is a cut of meat

Meat

Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs and offal...

 (usually beef

Beef

Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...

). Most are cut perpendicular

Perpendicular

In geometry, two lines or planes are considered perpendicular to each other if they form congruent adjacent angles . The term may be used as a noun or adjective...

 to the muscle fibers, improving the perceived tenderness of the meat. In North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

, steaks are typically served grilled

Grilling

Grilling is a form of cooking that involves dry heat applied to the surface of food, commonly from above or below.Grilling usually involves a significant amount of direct, radiant heat, and tends to be used for cooking meat quickly and meat that has already been cut into slices...

, pan-fried

Pan frying

Pan frying is a form of frying characterized by the use of minimal cooking oil or fat ; typically using just enough oil to lubricate the pan...

, or broiled. The more tender cuts from the loin

Loin

The loins are the sides between the lower ribs and pelvis, and the lower part of the back. It is often used when describing the anatomy of humans and quadrupeds . The anatomical reference also carries over into the description of cuts of meat from some such animals, eg...

 and rib

Ribs (food)

Ribs of beef, lamb, venison, and pork are a cut of meat. The term ribs usually refers to the less meaty part of the chops, often cooked as a slab .They can be roasted, grilled, baked, braised, or smoked....

 are cooked quickly, using dry heat, and served whole. Less tender cuts from the chuck

Chuck steak

Chuck steak is a cut of beef and is part of the subprimal cut known as the chuck. The typical chuck steak is a rectangular cut, about 1" thick and containing parts of the shoulder bones, and is often known as a "7-bone steak"...

 or round

Round steak

A round steak is a steak from the round primal cut of beef. Specifically, a round steak is the eye round, bottom round, and top round still connected, with or without the "round" bone , and may include the knuckle , depending on how the round is separated from the loin. This is a lean cut and it...

 are cooked with moist heat or are mechanically tenderized.
In the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, steak is typically served with chips (french fries)

French fries

French fries , chips, fries, or French-fried potatoes are strips of deep-fried potato. North Americans tend to refer to any pieces of deep-fried potatoes as fries or French fries, while in the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand, long, thinly cut slices of deep-fried potatoes are...

 , fried mushrooms and a fried tomato.