solar plexus
Americannoun
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Also called celiac plexus. Anatomy. a network of nerves situated at the upper part of the abdomen, behind the stomach and in front of the aorta.
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a point on the stomach wall, just below the sternum, where a blow will affect this nerve center.
noun
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Also called: coeliac plexus. anatomy the network of sympathetic nerves situated behind the stomach that supply the abdominal organs
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(not in technical usage) the part of the stomach beneath the diaphragm; pit of the stomach
Etymology
Origin of solar plexus
First recorded in 1765–75; so called from the raylike pattern of the nerve fibers
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.
"That would have been a big punch in the solar plexus for Brennan," says Blake.
From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2025
Gel, “Attainable” An absolutely vicious punch in the solar plexus from one of the most exciting new bands in hardcore.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2023
Its tension seeps into your limbs, settles tautly in your solar plexus and does not leave.
From New York Times ● Nov. 15, 2022
Once teams are hit in the solar plexus with a loss as sudden and devastating as Tuesday’s — and they’re rare — it’s really, really hard to bounce back.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 12, 2022
Coming through the heating vent, Fard Muhammad’s deep voice had made her solar plexus vibrate.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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.
