stomach
Americannoun
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stomachs
plural
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Anatomy, Zoology.
-
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:
The necropsy found that highly pathogenic avian influenza was the “primary underlying cause of her decline,” and that the infection caused a severe stomach ulcer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
When Caroline Bailey was suffering with sharp, stabbing pains in her stomach, she thought it was being caused by her contraceptive coil.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
So let’s see who’s got the stomach for it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
Our health columnist Sumathi Reddy offers practical strategies to help you enjoy some dairy while minimizing stomach trouble.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
Whenever I think about my first kiss, my stomach does a flip.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
By contrast, the rise of GLP-1s, CoolSculpting and plastic surgery has made toned-looking stomachs and plumped-up glutes more attainable without going to the gym.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
The chief vet of Kenya's Wildlife Service, Dr Isaac Lekolool, told us that they had found traces of cyanide in samples taken from the elephants' stomachs.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
Monkeys living on Gibraltar have learned that swallowing soil can quell upset stomachs caused by eating snacks offered or stolen from tourists, research suggests.
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2026
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
Then we’d take turns lying on our stomachs, watching the ants go back and forth picking up crumbs from sandwiches.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
Now, the market looks different: U.S. consumers have cooled on the technology, Chinese manufacturers have raced to dominate the market, and European carmakers have stomached tens of billions in write-downs after overcommitting to the segment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 2026
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
The Nationals stomached that once again, then took a calculated leap.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 28, 2020
I don’t want fame from this, that is why I stomached it and kept working, and kept supporting the “teenage dream” image.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2019
He could never have digested horse-beef among the Kalmucks, or stomached the rancid sour-krout of Old Haarlem, without this indispensable qualification.
From Shoulder-Straps A Novel of New York and the Army, 1862 by Henry Morford
Many buyers and sellers have begun to realize this, and are stomaching higher mortgage rates despite the economic cost simply because they can’t wait any longer to move.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
Yet many workers aren’t so sure; they’re having a hard time stomaching the uncertainty.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
And after stomaching a bombardment of body blows, the Huskies were unable to answer, producing back-to-back punts in the second half.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 18, 2023
“And, with transit not given the priority and service to get Angelenos to many destinations reliably, many are left stomaching higher gas prices instead.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 14, 2022
The local returns of dead rats were not made by the bills of mortality, but by the bills of fare: it was getting rid of a nuisance by the unheard-of process of stomaching a nuisance!
From Rambles Beyond Railways; or, Notes in Cornwall taken A-foot by Wilkie Collins
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
