belly
Americannoun
-
bellies
plural
-
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)
-
bellies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
bellied,
past participle, past
-
bellying
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
bellies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
bellied,
past participle, past
-
bellying
present participle
-
to swell out.
Sails bellying in the wind.
-
to crawl on one's belly.
soldiers bellying through a rice paddy.
verb phrase
idioms
noun
-
the lower or front part of the body of a vertebrate, containing the intestines and other abdominal organs; abdomen
-
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
-
informal to die, fail, or come to an end
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
bellysimple
-
belliessimple
-
have belliedperfect
-
has belliedperfect
-
am bellyingprogressive
-
are bellyingprogressive
-
is bellyingprogressive
-
have been bellyingperfect progressive
-
has been bellyingperfect progressive
Past
-
belliedsimple
-
had belliedperfect
-
was bellyingprogressive
-
were bellyingprogressive
-
had been bellyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
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
Explanation
Your belly is your stomach. If you have a belly ache, you have a pain in your abdomen. Santa Claus is famous for his jolly laugh and his large belly. The word belly is a more casual way to say "stomach" or "abdomen," just as your navel is informally called a "belly button." A less common way to use the word is as a verb meaning "to swell," which is actually the oldest meaning of belly, from the Old English belig, "bag," and a Germanic root meaning "to swell like a bag."
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:
Even if this $350,000 represents 10% of your portfolio, that 10% could still have a meaningful impact if the investment goes belly up.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026
Although reducing visible belly fat may appeal to patients for cosmetic reasons, researchers emphasize that the potential medical benefits could be more important.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026
Then, breaking the tension with his trademark belly laugh, he admitted his problem was attachment to Buddhism.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
And so, on a late morning in late August, I buzzed the seventh floor and rode the elevator straight into the belly of the beast.
From Slate ● Sep. 18, 2026
A pull of the cord sends the large box swiftly from the upstairs straight down to the belly of the kitchen.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
"They have big bellies, they can't run," a protester told reporters.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
"This is the first evidence that our bellies expand with age due to the APCs' high output of new fat cells."
From Science Daily ● Jun. 27, 2026
To test the observation, they strapped pressure sensors around the bellies of lightly anesthetized mice and observed the brain when slight pressure was applied only to the abdominal muscles.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2026
Most fruit travels in the bellies of passenger jets on routes flown by Emirates and Qatar Airways, competing with pharmaceuticals and electronics.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 4, 2026
We fill our bellies as best we can and I shove the rest of the food into Viola’s bag, now hanging round my shoulders.
From "The Knife of Never Letting Go" by Patrick Ness
“To our first Kennedy Center musical!” a mother toasted her mocktail-sipping daughter the night I bellied up to the blue-tiled bar.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 20, 2023
You can see some of the surprising new finds on the citizen science project Redmap, such as sightings of the tropical yellow bellied sea snake in Tasmanian waters.
From Salon ● Nov. 28, 2022
She also was fed rotting capelin — described as soft bellied and smelling bad — despite the attending vet’s objections.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 16, 2021
Other attendees, more interested in topping the tale of the cowpoke on the next stool, were bellied up to the bar.
From New York Times ● Sep. 26, 2018
Robert held his umbrella over her.As they went cutting sidewise through the water, the sails bellied taut, with the wind filing and overflowing them.
From "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin
All you need to do — beyond bellying up to the never-ending breakfast bar — is be vigilant about the demon carbs and sugars that lurk everywhere.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2021
Ambrogi has since put on a mask, but he refuses to prevent customers from bellying up to the bar in defiance of state rules strictly limiting indoor dining.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 12, 2020
My favorite San Francisco poet these days is August Kleinzahler, who often writes about bellying up to a bar.
From New York Times ● Mar. 11, 2019
A steady stream of moviegoers bellying up to the concession stand for a brew seems unlikely.
From Washington Times ● May 3, 2017
Gerald Black, at his own request, was supervising the mushrooming wooden partitions that were springing up in a bellying circle on the vaulted third floor of Radiation Building 2.
From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov
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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.
