stomach
Americannoun
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stomachs
plural
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Anatomy, Zoology.
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a saclike enlargement of the alimentary canal, as in humans and certain animals, forming an organ for storing, diluting, and digesting food.
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such an organ or an analogous portion of the alimentary canal when divided into two or more sections or parts.
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any one of these sections.
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Zoology. any analogous digestive cavity or tract in invertebrates.
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the part of the body containing the stomach; belly or abdomen.
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appetite for food.
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desire, inclination, or liking.
I have no stomach for this trip.
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Obsolete.
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spirit; courage.
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pride; haughtiness.
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resentment; anger.
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verb (used with object)
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stomachs,
present (3rd person singular)
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stomached,
past participle, past
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stomaching
present participle
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to endure or tolerate (someone or something).
I can't stomach your constant nagging.
- Synonyms:
- countenance, abide, stand, bear
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Obsolete. to be offended at or resent.
noun
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(in vertebrates) the enlarged muscular saclike part of the alimentary canal in which food is stored until it has been partially digested and rendered into chyme
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the corresponding digestive organ in invertebrates
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the abdominal region
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desire, appetite, or inclination
I have no stomach for arguments
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an archaic word for temper
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an obsolete word for pride
verb
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to tolerate; bear
I can't stomach his bragging
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to eat or digest
he cannot stomach oysters
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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stomachsimple
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stomachssimple
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have stomachedperfect
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has stomachedperfect
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am stomachingprogressive
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are stomachingprogressive
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is stomachingprogressive
-
have been stomachingperfect progressive
-
has been stomachingperfect progressive
Past
-
stomachedsimple
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had stomachedperfect
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was stomachingprogressive
-
were stomachingprogressive
-
had been stomachingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of stomach
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English stomak, from Latin stomachus “gullet, stomach,” from Greek stómachos originally, “opening”; akin to stoma
Explanation
The stomach is the organ of your body — kind of a big sac — that digests food. We also say people have a stomach for something unpleasant when they can handle it. Without a stomach, you'd be in trouble: that's where your food gets digested and turned into useful material your body can use for energy. If you ever got punched in the stomach or had a stomach ache, it can hurt a lot. Also, stomach can mean having a hunger, or at least tolerance, for something. If you can't stomach watching football, then you can't stand watching it. If you have a stomach for something, you can swallow it.
Vocabulary lists containing stomach
Nutrition and Digestion - Introductory
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Nutrition and Digestion - High School
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Nutrition and Digestion - Middle School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
It is borne heavily by spouses and parents, who watch the news with a knot in their stomach, worrying endlessly about the physical safety, mental strain and welfare of their loved ones.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
Although overeating might seem like a problem that begins in the stomach, appetite is largely regulated by the brain.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 13, 2026
Salmonella infection could result in diarrhea, nausea, headache and stomach cramps.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
Just last week, the actress shared a mirror selfie in which she could be seen showing off her growing baby bump, pulling up her black shirt to flaunt her stomach, while grimacing at the camera.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
Her eyes settle on me, and my stomach churns.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
The author also points out that carbonated water can affect the digestive system, especially in people with sensitive stomachs or existing gastrointestinal issues.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 17, 2026
Patients who went under the knife late last year are now debuting tighter skin, flatter stomachs and lifted eyelids to their social networks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 7, 2026
Fall is the time of year when bears really begin to think with their stomachs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2025
The study examined only plastics found inside the stomachs of animals.
From BBC ● Nov. 17, 2025
They create something in the pit of our stomachs that stirs up those emotions and more.
From "Linked" by Gordon Korman
Venture-capital firms have stomached vast losses in part because OpenAI and Anthropic are among the fastest-growing businesses in the history of tech.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 6, 2026
The practice is stomached by managers who want to protect their actual pitchers from overuse.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2025
McDonald's engineered a relatively smooth sale to Govor for an undisclosed fee, but stomached a non-cash charge of $1.4 billion and forfeited $300 million in annual operating income.
From Reuters ● Dec. 16, 2022
If they had, I could have stomached it more,” said Jill Roberts, who co-owns a wine bar in downtown Helena, Mont. “It came out of left field.”
From New York Times ● May 15, 2021
You have manifestly disrelished it, but you have valiantly stomached it for my sake.
From Andivius Hedulio Adventures of a Roman Nobleman in the Days of the Empire by Edward Lucas White
Yet many workers aren’t so sure; they’re having a hard time stomaching the uncertainty.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
Investing in an IPO means stomaching the potential for volatility in early trading.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
A heavy reliance on three-true-outcome hitters — players who hit home runs and accumulate walks while stomaching a once-nauseating amount of strikeouts — became the preeminent offensive formula to win regular-season games for different reasons.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 22, 2023
Well if you've got nobody to share it with because you're all alone and isolated then it takes some stomaching.
From BBC ● Feb. 18, 2021
At this moment, one of the enemy, who had been annoying us from a thicket some thirty paces from where I stood, not stomaching the grape, made a movement from his hiding-place.
From Memoirs of the Extraordinary Military Career of John Shipp Late a Lieut. in His Majesty's 87th Regiment by John Shipp
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
