stomach
- 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.
- to endure or tolerate (someone or something): I can't stomach your constant nagging.
- Obsolete. to be offended at or resent.
Origin of stomach
Synonyms
See more synonyms for stomach on Thesaurus.comExamples from the Web for stomachs
Contemporary Examples
There were stomachs, taut and flat, but also undulating bellies, soft and bloated from the breakfast buffet.
He flipped the two women onto their stomachs, flex-cuffing their wrists.
The worst were the stories about three dead abductees found in a river in Sloviansk with their stomachs cut open.
The exhibition begins with a photo of two mermaids posed side-by-side on their stomachs with their tails sticking up in the air.
Thirty-two are being force-fed, a brutal process that involves Ensure being pumped through a tube snaked into their stomachs.
Historical Examples
It was and is intended by her for the stomachs of men, to cure all the ills of mankind.
The Mayflower, January, 1905Various
It was scandalous, never to think of anything but their stomachs!
The DownfallEmile Zola
The body of big Stan had disappeared in the stomachs of the rest of the pack.
They go about—even the most elegant of them—thinking with their stomachs.
The Ghost in the White HouseGerald Stanley Lee
Crawling on our stomachs, my bearer and I peeped over the edge of the plateau.
In the Forbidden LandArnold Henry Savage Landor
stomach
- (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
- to tolerate; bearI can't stomach his bragging
- to eat or digesthe cannot stomach oysters
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for stomachs
stomach
n.
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
v.
"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.
stomach
(stŭm′ək)- The enlarged saclike portion of the digestive tract between the esophagus and small intestine, lying just beneath the diaphragm.
stomach
- 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).
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.