yellow-bellied
Americanadjective
-
having a yellow abdomen or underside.
-
Slang. cowardly; lily-livered.
Etymology
Origin of yellow-bellied
First recorded in 1700–10
Explanation
To be yellow-bellied is to be cowardly or easily scared. If you're yellow-bellied, you're not brave. It’s the kind of word cowboys use, partner. This word originally applied to birds that literally have a yellow belly, like the yellow-bellied sapsucker. From there, it came to mean an insult for cowards. If you're afraid to ask someone on a date, you're yellow-bellied. If you're easily frightened or spooked, you're yellow-bellied. This is often used as an insult or challenge, like "What are you, yellow-bellied?!"
Vocabulary lists containing yellow-bellied
Idioms and Expressions, List 3
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!
Bridge to Terabithia
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!
Into the Wild
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.
A yellow-bellied marmot shown on a trail camera in Montana.
From Salon • Oct. 23, 2024
Documented examples have included California condors, Komodo dragons and yellow-bellied water snakes.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 13, 2024
According to Daniel Blumstein, a conservation biologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, who studies longevity in yellow-bellied marmots and was not involved in the new study, connecting social genes to longevity was intriguing.
From Scientific American • Jan. 31, 2023
Marmots, a genus spanning 15 species of varying sociality — including alpine marmots living in multigenerational family groups, semi-social yellow-bellied marmots and ostensibly antisocial groundhogs — were a natural subject.
From New York Times • Feb. 1, 2022
Sometimes he acted like the original yellow-bellied sapsucker.
From "Bridge to Terabithia" by Katherine Paterson
Definitions 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.
