belly

[ bel-ee ]

/ ˈbɛl i /

noun, plural bel·lies.

the front or under part of a vertebrate body from the breastbone to the pelvis, containing the abdominal viscera; the abdomen.

the stomach with its adjuncts.

appetite or capacity for food; gluttony.

the womb.

the inside or interior of anything: the belly of a ship.

a protuberant or bulging surface of anything: the belly of a flask.

Anatomy. the fleshy part of a muscle.

the front, inner, or under surface or part, as distinguished from the back.

the front surface of a violin or similar instrument.

a bulge on a vertical surface of fresh concrete.

the underpart of the fuselage of an airplane.

verb (used with object), bel·lied, bel·ly·ing.

to fill out; swell: Wind bellied the sails.

verb (used without object), bel·lied, bel·ly·ing.

to swell out: Sails bellying in the wind.

to crawl on one's belly: soldiers bellying through a rice paddy.

Verb Phrases

belly up, Informal.

to approach closely, especially until one is in physical contact: to belly up to a bar.
to curry favor from: Would you have gotten the promotion if you hadn't bellied up to the boss?

Nearby words

bells and whistles, bells of ireland, bellwether, bellwood, bellwort, belly, belly bust, belly button, belly dance, belly dancer, belly flop

Idioms

go/turn belly up, Informal. to come to an end; die; fail: After years of barely surviving on donations, the neighborhood social club finally went belly up.

Origin of belly

before 950; Middle English bely, Old English belig, belg bag, skin; cognate with German Balg, Gothic balgs, Old Norse belgr sack; akin to Welsh bol(a), boly, Irish bolg sack, belly, bellows, Serbo-Croatian blàzina, Latvian pabàlsts, Avestan barəziš-, Persian bālish cushion

Related formsbel·ly·like, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for bellies

They drink too much, their bellies distend, and most possess a predilection for siliconed blondes and themed belt buckles.
Let Us Now Praise Famous Rednecks and Their Unjustly Unsung Kin|Allison Glock|August 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But it was not just their bellies that needed feeding—their minds and hearts did, too.
Back to Afghanistan|Magsie Hamilton-Little|October 6, 2011|DAILY BEAST
However, de-miners crawling on their bellies to identify, excavate, and destroy mines remain the default modus operandi.
Diana Landmine Conspiracies Return|Martyn Gregory|June 6, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Of sake, I raise up the tops of the jars, and fill and range in order the bellies of the jars.
Shinto|W. G. (William George) Aston

They live but for their bellies, and aside from eating, drinking, sleeping and moaning they can do nothing.
Foma Gordyeff|Maxim Gorky
You take good care of your bellies, the way you haul the crackers and bacon.
Red-Tape and Pigeon-Hole Generals|William H. Armstrong
The yards coming down upon the caps, the sails stood out in bellies hard as iron.
The Wreck of the Grosvenor, Volume 1 of 3|William Clark Russell
The water swirls about their horses' bellies and the clang of sword against sword is deafening.'
The Hour of the Dragon|Robert E. Howard

British Dictionary definitions for bellies

belly

/ (ˈbɛlɪ) /

noun plural -lies

the lower or front part of the body of a vertebrate, containing the intestines and other abdominal organs; abdomenRelated adjective: ventral

the stomach, esp when regarded as the seat of gluttony

a part, line, or structure that bulges deeplythe belly of a sail

the inside or interior cavity of somethingthe belly of a ship

the front or inner part or underside of something

the surface of a stringed musical instrument over which the strings are stretched

the thick central part of certain muscles

Australian and NZ the wool from a sheep's belly

tanning the portion of a hide or skin on the underpart of an animal

archery the surface of the bow next to the bowstring

archaic the womb

go belly up informal to die, fail, or come to an end

verb -lies, -lying or -lied

to swell out or cause to swell out; bulge

Word Origin for belly

Old English belig; related to Old High German balg, Old Irish bolg sack, Sanskrit barhi chaff

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

Word Origin and History for bellies (1 of 2)

belly

"to swell out," 1620s, from belly (n.). Related: Bellied; bellying. Old English belgan meant "to be or become angry" (a figurative sense). A comparable Greek verb-from-noun, gastrizein, meant "to hit (someone) in the belly."

Word Origin and History for bellies (1 of 2)

belly

Old English belg, bylg (West Saxon), bælg (Anglian) "leather bag, purse, bellows," from Proto-Germanic *balgiz "bag" (cf. Old Norse belgr "bag, bellows," bylgja "billow," Gothic balgs "wineskin"), from PIE *bholgh-, from root *bhelgh- "to swell," an extension of *bhel- (2) "to blow, swell" (see bole). Meaning shifted to "body" (late 13c.), then focused to "abdomen" (mid-14c.). Meaning "bulging part or concave surface of anything" is 1590s. The West Germanic root had a figurative or extended sense of "anger, arrogance" (cf. Old English bolgenmod "enraged;" belgan (v.) "to become angry").

Indo-European languages commonly use the same word for both the external belly and the internal (stomach, womb, etc.), but the distinction of external and internal is somewhat present in English belly/stomach; Greek gastr- (see gastric) in classical language denoted the paunch or belly, while modern science uses it only in reference to the stomach as an organ. Fastidious avoidance of belly in speech and writing (compensated for by stretching the senses of imported stomach and abdomen, baby-talk tummy and misappropriated midriff) began late 18c. and the word was banished from Bibles in many early 19c. editions. Belly punch (n.) is attested from 1811.

Medicine definitions for bellies

belly

[ bĕl′ē ]

n.

abdomen

The stomach.

The womb; the uterus.

The bulging, central part of a muscle.venter

Idioms and Phrases with bellies

belly

see go belly up.

belly

noun, plural bel·lies.

verb (used with object), bel·lied, bel·ly·ing.