abdominal
Americanadjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of abdominal
Explanation
Anything abdominal relates to the midsection of your body, just below your chest and above your pelvis. Abdominal muscles are sometimes called “abs” and they’re the muscles in your abdomen. All abdominal things relate to the belly area. If your stomach hurts, you have abdominal pain. Sit-ups are abdominal exercises. Do enough sit-ups and you'll have washboard abs because the rippled muscles look like, well, a washboard. Any stomach surgery is a type of abdominal surgery. Sometimes abdominal is used as a noun that’s short for abdominal muscle.
Vocabulary lists containing abdominal
Turtles All the Way Down
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The Hot Zone
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Stuart Little
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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.
She was suffering from an abdominal infection and "her condition continued to worsen", the Bureau of the Royal Household said in a statement, until she "passed away peacefully" on Thursday evening.
From Barron's • Jun. 12, 2026
Today, excess abdominal fat is a major risk factor because it can trigger chronic inflammation that damages arteries, cardiac tissue and kidneys, he said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026
She underwent a further eight abdominal surgeries to remove the infection, but, months later, she noticed a lump developing in her stomach, which was later confirmed to be a hernia.
From BBC • May 30, 2026
Common symptoms include persistent diarrhea, abdominal pain, fatigue, and other complications that can significantly affect daily life.
From Science Daily • May 9, 2026
Except for the birds and reptiles, all these animals were marsupials—like kangaroos, they gave birth to tiny, helpless, fetus-like young which they then nurtured with milk in abdominal pouches.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
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.
