an awkward, usually unintentional dive in which the front of the body strikes the water horizontally, the abdomen or chest bearing the brunt of the impact.
a maneuver with a sled in which the sledder runs with the sled to gain momentum and jumps forward to land on top of the sled as it moves through the snow.
a failure; flop.
to do a belly flop, as in diving or sledding.
to land or throw oneself heavily down on one's belly.
so tired he just belly-flopped on the bed.
a dive into water in which the body lands horizontally
another name for belly landing
First recorded in 1890–95
First recorded in 1930–35
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In fact, they discovered, this particular sequence of movements — curl up, jump, finish with a belly flop — is not unusual among other worm-shaped organisms that jump, including caterpillars and fly larvae.
From New York Times • Jun. 20, 2024
Anyone who's ever done a belly flop into a swimming pool knows it ends with a blunt-sounding splat, a big splash and a searing red sting.
From Science Daily • Nov. 6, 2023
In Switzerland, he was rescued by scuba divers who pulled him unconscious from a lake after a belly flop.
From Washington Times • Jul. 24, 2023
Winter is slurping weather, so belly flop into a cauldron of steaming broth from the familiar sweet southern style beef pho to a saltier, Northern version listed on the menu as “Phở Hà Nội Style.”
From Seattle Times • Dec. 8, 2021
Then he ran down the hallway and took a flying leap and landed in a belly flop on the floor.
From "The Thing About Jellyfish" by Ali Benjamin
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.
