stomach

[stuhm-uhk]

noun

Anatomy, Zoology.
1. a saclike enlargement of the alimentary canal, as in humans and certain animals, forming an organ for storing, diluting, and digesting food.
2. such an organ or an analogous portion of the alimentary canal when divided into two or more sections or parts.
3. 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.
1. spirit; courage.
2. pride; haughtiness.
3. resentment; anger.

verb (used with object)

to endure or tolerate (someone or something): I can't stomach your constant nagging.
Obsolete. to be offended at or resent.

Origin of stomach

1300–50; Middle English stomak < Latin stomachus gullet, stomach < Greek stómachos orig., opening; akin to stoma

Synonyms for stomach

7. bear, stand, abide, countenance.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for stomachs

tummy, gut, abdomen, belly, mind, tolerate, paunch, maw, inside, potbelly, insides, pot, breadbasket, desire, taste, tooth, appetence, relish, inclination, brook

Examples from the Web for stomachs

Contemporary Examples of stomachs

There were stomachs, taut and flat, but also undulating bellies, soft and bloated from the breakfast buffet.
Powerful Congressman Writes About ‘Fleshy Breasts’
Asawin Suebsaeng
January 7, 2015
He flipped the two women onto their stomachs, flex-cuffing their wrists.
I Shot Bin Laden
Elliot Ackerman
November 16, 2014
The worst were the stories about three dead abductees found in a river in Sloviansk with their stomachs cut open.
The 26-Year-Old Woman Searching for Ukraine’s Disappeared
Anna Nemtsova
June 17, 2014
The exhibition begins with a photo of two mermaids posed side-by-side on their stomachs with their tails sticking up in the air.
A Doll’s Life: Laurie Simmons Explores Kigurumi
Ann Binlot
March 10, 2014
Thirty-two are being force-fed, a brutal process that involves Ensure being pumped through a tube snaked into their stomachs.
The Faces of Guantánamo
Molly Crabapple
September 3, 2013

Historical Examples of stomachs

It was and is intended by her for the stomachs of men, to cure all the ills of mankind.
The Mayflower, January, 1905
Various
It was scandalous, never to think of anything but their stomachs!
The Downfall
Emile Zola
The body of big Stan had disappeared in the stomachs of the rest of the pack.
The Best Short Stories of 1920
Various
They go about—even the most elegant of them—thinking with their stomachs.
The Ghost in the White House
Gerald Stanley Lee
Crawling on our stomachs, my bearer and I peeped over the edge of the plateau.
In the Forbidden Land
Arnold Henry Savage Landor

British Dictionary definitions for stomachs

stomach

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 chymeRelated adjective: gastric
the corresponding digestive organ in invertebrates
the abdominal region
desire, appetite, or inclinationI have no stomach for arguments
an archaic word for temper
an obsolete word for pride

verb (tr; used mainly in negative constructions)

to tolerate; bearI can't stomach his bragging
to eat or digesthe cannot stomach oysters

Word Origin for stomach

C14: from Old French stomaque, from Latin stomachus (believed to be the seat of the emotions), from Greek stomakhos, from stoma mouth

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for stomachs

stomach

c.1300, "internal pouch into which food is digested," from Old French estomac, from Latin stomachus "stomach, throat," also "pride, inclination, indignation" (which were thought to have their origin in that organ), from Greek stomachos "throat, gullet, esophagus," literally "mouth, opening," from stoma "mouth" (see stoma). Applied to the openings of various internal organs, especially the stomach, then to the stomach itself. Some 16c. anatomists tried to correct the sense back to "esophagus" and introduce ventricle for what we call the stomach. Meaning "belly, midriff, part of the body that contains the stomach" is from late 14c. Figurative senses in Latin extended into Middle English (cf. "relish, inclination, desire," 1510s). Stomach ache is from 1763.

stomach

"to tolerate, put up with," 1570s, from stomach (n.), probably in reference to digestion; earlier sense was opposite: "to be offended at, resent" (1520s), from Latin stomachari "to be resentful," from stomachus (n.) in its secondary sense of "pride, indignation." Related: Stomached; stomaching.

stomachs in Medicine

stomach

[stŭm′ək]

The enlarged saclike portion of the digestive tract between the esophagus and small intestine, lying just beneath the diaphragm.

stomachs in Science

stomach

[stŭm′ək]

A saclike muscular organ in vertebrate animals that stores and breaks down ingested food. Food enters the stomach from the esophagus and passes to the small intestine through the pylorus. Glands in the stomach secrete hydrochloric acid and the digestive enzyme pepsin.
A similar digestive structure of many invertebrates.
Any of the four compartments into which the stomach of a ruminant is divided (the rumen, reticulum, omasum, or abomasum).

stomachs in Culture

stomach

An organ in the digestive system, on the left side of the body behind the lower rib cage, that receives chewed food from the esophagus. Tiny glands in the stomach's lining secrete gastric juice, which contains acids, mucus, and enzymes. This fluid, along with the muscular churning actions of the stomach, helps transform food into a thick, semifluid mass that can be passed into the small intestine for digestion.

Idioms and Phrases with stomachs

stomach

see butterflies in one's stomach; can't stand (stomach) the sight of; eyes are bigger than one's stomach; no stomach for; sick to one's stomach; turn one's stomach.