yellow-bellied
Americanadjective
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having a yellow abdomen or underside.
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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
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Bridge to Terabithia
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Into the Wild
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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
This white-throated sparrow, yellow-bellied sapsucker, magnolia warbler and their 10 companions are colored by spray paint, not feathers.
From New York Times • Oct. 16, 2015
“Yes, I’ll read now. But if Captain Cat continues to act like a yellow-bellied coward, we’re skipping it.”
From "The Reader" by Traci Chee
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.
