belly flop

See synonyms for: belly flopbelly-floppedbelly-floppingbelly-flops on Thesaurus.com

nounNorthern and North Midland U.S.
  1. an awkward, usually unintentional dive in which the front of the body strikes the water horizontally, the abdomen or chest bearing the brunt of the impact.

  2. a maneuver with a sled in which the sledder runs with the sled to gain momentum and jumps forward to land on top of the sled as it moves through the snow.

  1. a failure; flop.

Origin of belly flop

1
First recorded in 1890–95
  • Sometimes belly flopper .

Words Nearby belly flop

Other definitions for belly-flop (2 of 2)

belly-flop
[ bel-ee-flop ]

verb (used without object),bel·ly-flopped, bel·ly-flop·ping.Northern and North Midland U.S.
  1. to do a belly flop, as in diving or sledding.

  2. to land or throw oneself heavily down on one's belly: so tired he just belly-flopped on the bed.

Origin of belly-flop

2
First recorded in 1930–35

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use belly flop in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for belly flop

belly flop

noun
  1. a dive into water in which the body lands horizontally

  2. another name for belly landing

verbbelly-flop -flops, -flopping or -flopped
  1. (intr) to perform a belly flop

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012