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belly
[ bel-ee ]
noun
- 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)
- to fill out; swell:
Wind bellied the sails.
verb (used without object)
- to swell out:
Sails bellying in the wind.
- to crawl on one's belly:
soldiers bellying through a rice paddy.
verb phrase
- 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?
belly
/ ˈbɛlɪ /
noun
- the lower or front part of the body of a vertebrate, containing the intestines and other abdominal organs; abdomen ventral
- the stomach, esp when regarded as the seat of gluttony
- a part, line, or structure that bulges deeply
the belly of a sail
- the inside or interior cavity of something
the 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
- 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
- to swell out or cause to swell out; bulge
Other Words From
- belly·like adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of belly1
Word History and Origins
Origin of belly1
Idioms and Phrases
- 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.
More idioms and phrases containing belly
see go belly up .Example Sentences
This tube comes with two tow points, which means you can sit back and relax as your boat pulls from your feet or go for a more adventurous ride by lying on your belly and holding onto the chariot.
Otherwise we ought to crawl on our bellies, hold fast to anything different from ourselves—as positive adheres to negative—and never clean our rooms.
The authors first honed in on an acupoint called ST25 near the belly region.
In its belly, scientists found mostly fern leaves along with small amounts of palmlike cycads and conifer needles.
The vehicle spun its two front wheels to shove under its belly the seeds that had been ahead of it.
She attends hip-hop and belly dance classes (known as Arabic dance in Iran) just to shine more at parties.
He holds them on his belly and looks at them with a magnifying glass, studying possible escape routes.
Previously they were general contractors until the economy went belly up in 2008.
The gosling's best chance at surviving the jump is to bounce off the cliff on its soft belly.
All you could see was the area from her belly button to her knees.
There is a companion who condoleth with his friend for his belly's sake, and he will take up a shield against the enemy.
In the beautiful modelled violin this is provided for in the rise of the back and belly.
Delancy caught it with one arm and a belly and passed it back through the door to Squid Murphy who was standing just outside.
The bridge should be fitted as accurately as the post, and as though it grew from the belly, the feet touching equally all round.
No hard feelings, chiseler, but I sure would like to put a couple of slugs in your belly!
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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.
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