tummy
Americannoun
-
tummies
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of tummy
First recorded in 1865–70; nursery alteration of stomach
Explanation
Tummy is an informal shorthand for stomach. This word is mainly used for talking to little kids: "Aw, do you have a tummy ache?" You wouldn't use the word tummy in your human anatomy class, but you might use it when you babysit your two-year-old niece. Infants sometimes have "tummy time," a short period when they are turned onto their stomachs so they can develop their neck and shoulder muscles. Tummy has been in use since the 19th century, and experts guess that it comes from a childish pronunciation of stomach.
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:
"Some of the things that are now presented as really high stakes are not," she says, using examples like breastfeeding exclusively for six months or how much tummy time a child needs.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
Among patients 66 and older, demand for breast augmentations, tummy tucks, arm lifts, thigh lifts and facelifts all increased by double digits.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 5, 2026
Legendary BBC commentator Ted Lowe, predicting trouble may be ahead in the Crucible cauldron, says: "The butterflies must be floating around his tummy."
From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2026
The medical term for my ailment is an asymmetrical gluteal cleft, though requests to fix it are far less common than those to eliminate cellulite, flatten the tummy, or augment the breasts.
From Slate ● Feb. 22, 2026
Sheed winced from a sharp pain in his side, and his tummy felt like the time Grandma said he shouldn’t have eaten so many shrimp.
From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles
Australia are the favourites here, but this was a baring of teeth - the Proteas are not going to roll over and have their tummies tickled.
From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2025
She would describe the way they moved their tummies as if by magic with muscles unknown to the rest of us.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2024
That’s so guests have enough room in their tummies to try out six different kinds of ramen, two at each spot during the tour.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 24, 2024
“There are grandparents who in their day were told to put their babies to sleep on their tummies, and they may be influencing the decisions parents are making.”
From Washington Post ● Apr. 10, 2022
‘Those beasts is always bishing and walloping at one another. Soon it will be getting dusky and they will be galloping off to fill their tummies.’
From "The BFG" by Roald Dahl
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
