solar plexus

American  

noun

1. 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.

2. a point on the stomach wall, just below the sternum, where a blow will affect this nerve center.

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solar plexus British  

noun

1. Also called: coeliac plexus.  anatomy the network of sympathetic nerves situated behind the stomach that supply the abdominal organs

2. (not in technical usage) the part of the stomach beneath the diaphragm; pit of the stomach

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Etymology

Origin of solar plexus

First recorded in 1765–75; so called from the raylike pattern of the nerve fibers

Example Sentences

And at Paris Fashion Week last year, it was unmissable: a giant, gleaming butterfly hanging above her solar plexus at the Louis Vuitton men’s show by Pharrell Williams.

From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2024

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

“You can’t breathe, you can’t feel. The ties are on your solar plexus, not on your waist.”

From New York Times • Oct. 7, 2022

As the father of two teenagers, that hit me right in the solar plexus.

From Salon • Jun. 5, 2022

I still had a knot in my solar plexus.

From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram

Related Words

• abdomen
• gut
• insides
• pelvis
• tank
• tummy