stomach
Americannoun
-
stomachs
plural
-
Anatomy, Zoology.
-
a saclike enlargement of the alimentary canal, as in humans and certain animals, forming an organ for storing, diluting, and digesting food.
-
such an organ or an analogous portion of the alimentary canal when divided into two or more sections or parts.
-
any one of these sections.
-
-
Zoology. any analogous digestive cavity or tract in invertebrates.
-
the part of the body containing the stomach; belly or abdomen.
-
appetite for food.
-
desire, inclination, or liking.
I have no stomach for this trip.
-
Obsolete.
-
spirit; courage.
-
pride; haughtiness.
-
resentment; anger.
-
verb (used with object)
-
stomachs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
stomached,
past participle, past
-
stomaching
present participle
-
to endure or tolerate (someone or something).
I can't stomach your constant nagging.
- Synonyms:
- countenance, abide, stand, bear
-
Obsolete. to be offended at or resent.
noun
-
(in vertebrates) the enlarged muscular saclike part of the alimentary canal in which food is stored until it has been partially digested and rendered into chyme
-
the corresponding digestive organ in invertebrates
-
the abdominal region
-
desire, appetite, or inclination
I have no stomach for arguments
-
an archaic word for temper
-
an obsolete word for pride
verb
-
to tolerate; bear
I can't stomach his bragging
-
to eat or digest
he cannot stomach oysters
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
stomachsimple
-
stomachssimple
-
have stomachedperfect
-
has stomachedperfect
-
am stomachingprogressive
-
are stomachingprogressive
-
is stomachingprogressive
-
have been stomachingperfect progressive
-
has been stomachingperfect progressive
Past
-
stomachedsimple
-
had stomachedperfect
-
was stomachingprogressive
-
were stomachingprogressive
-
had been stomachingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of stomach
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English stomak, from Latin stomachus “gullet, stomach,” from Greek stómachos originally, “opening”; akin to stoma
Explanation
The stomach is the organ of your body — kind of a big sac — that digests food. We also say people have a stomach for something unpleasant when they can handle it. Without a stomach, you'd be in trouble: that's where your food gets digested and turned into useful material your body can use for energy. If you ever got punched in the stomach or had a stomach ache, it can hurt a lot. Also, stomach can mean having a hunger, or at least tolerance, for something. If you can't stomach watching football, then you can't stand watching it. If you have a stomach for something, you can swallow it.
Vocabulary lists containing stomach
Nutrition and Digestion - Introductory
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Nutrition and Digestion - High School
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Nutrition and Digestion - Middle School
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
The model incorporated several interconnected systems, including the salivary glands, stomach, small intestine, and plasma, the liquid portion of blood.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 15, 2026
Although nitrates and nitrites contribute to important functions in the brain and cardiovascular system, they can also participate in potentially harmful reactions once they reach the stomach.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 15, 2026
The disappearance of many prospective buyers as rates have risen has given those who can stomach the higher costs more leverage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 12, 2026
The current stage is focusing on stomach rinsing, which will check if nurdles have been found in the birds' stomachs.
From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2026
As we turned the corner and it came into view, my stomach seemed to fall out of me.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
The current stage is focusing on stomach rinsing, which will check if nurdles have been found in the birds' stomachs.
From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2026
He wanted it to be easier to clean up when players dug so deep that they emptied their stomachs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
In Colorado, Kimberly Jones has grown her herd of goats from 25 to 250 in seven years, deploying their efficient teeth, hooves and stomachs to clear undergrowth to stem the spread of flames.
From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026
Though gone from the stomachs of people in the industrialised world, the bacteria has been detected among tribes in Africa and South America, Sarhan said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 3, 2026
From the last cone of maple sugar, she made a taste of syrup for them all, and that night, at least, they went to sleep with a comfortable warmth in their stomachs.
From "The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich
Now, the market looks different: U.S. consumers have cooled on the technology, Chinese manufacturers have raced to dominate the market, and European carmakers have stomached tens of billions in write-downs after overcommitting to the segment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 2026
McDonald's engineered a relatively smooth sale to Govor for an undisclosed fee, but stomached a non-cash charge of $1.4 billion and forfeited $300 million in annual operating income.
From Reuters ● Dec. 16, 2022
I don’t want fame from this, that is why I stomached it and kept working, and kept supporting the “teenage dream” image.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2019
The players still went to practice every day, still pulled on the heavy pads, stomached every loss that brought all kinds of pain.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 21, 2017
Wilson saw and sketched the new white stomached whale seen by us in the pack.
From Scott's Last Expedition Volume I by Robert Falcon Scott
Many buyers and sellers have begun to realize this, and are stomaching higher mortgage rates despite the economic cost simply because they can’t wait any longer to move.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
Yet many workers aren’t so sure; they’re having a hard time stomaching the uncertainty.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
A heavy reliance on three-true-outcome hitters — players who hit home runs and accumulate walks while stomaching a once-nauseating amount of strikeouts — became the preeminent offensive formula to win regular-season games for different reasons.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 22, 2023
Well if you've got nobody to share it with because you're all alone and isolated then it takes some stomaching.
From BBC ● Feb. 18, 2021
At this moment, one of the enemy, who had been annoying us from a thicket some thirty paces from where I stood, not stomaching the grape, made a movement from his hiding-place.
From Memoirs of the Extraordinary Military Career of John Shipp Late a Lieut. in His Majesty's 87th Regiment by John Shipp
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
