the front or under part of a vertebrate body from the breastbone to the pelvis, containing the abdominal viscera; the abdomen.
the stomach with its adjuncts.
appetite or capacity for food; gluttony.
the womb.
the inside or interior of anything: the belly of a ship.
a protuberant or bulging surface of anything: the belly of a flask.
Anatomy. the fleshy part of a muscle.
the front, inner, or under surface or part, as distinguished from the back.
the front surface of a violin or similar instrument.
a bulge on a vertical surface of fresh concrete.
the underpart of the fuselage of an airplane.
verb (used with object),bel·lied,bel·ly·ing.
to fill out; swell: Wind bellied the sails.
verb (used without object),bel·lied,bel·ly·ing.
to swell out: Sails bellying in the wind.
to crawl on one's belly: soldiers bellying through a rice paddy.
Verb Phrases
belly up,Informal.
to approach closely, especially until one is in physical contact: to belly up to a bar.
to curry favor from: Would you have gotten the promotion if you hadn't bellied up to the boss?
Idioms for belly
go / turn belly up, Informal. to come to an end; die; fail: After years of barely surviving on donations, the neighborhood social club finally went belly up.
Origin of belly
before 950; Middle English bely,Old English belig, belg bag, skin; cognate with German Balg,Gothic balgs,Old Norse belgr sack; akin to Welsh bol(a), boly,Irish bolg sack, belly, bellows, Serbo-Croatian blàzina,Latvian pabàlsts,Avestan barəziš-,Persian bālish cushion
OTHER WORDS FROM belly
bel·ly·like,adjective
Words nearby belly
bell the cat, who will, bell-topper, bellwether, Bellwood, bellwort, belly, bellyache, bellyband, bellyboard, belly bust, bellybutton
This tube comes with two tow points, which means you can sit back and relax as your boat pulls from your feet or go for a more adventurous ride by lying on your belly and holding onto the chariot.
The best boating tubes|PopSci Commerce Team|September 3, 2020|Popular Science
Otherwise we ought to crawl on our bellies, hold fast to anything different from ourselves—as positive adheres to negative—and never clean our rooms.
Just Because It’s Natural Doesn’t Mean It’s Good - Issue 89: The Dark Side|David P. Barash|August 19, 2020|Nautilus
The authors first honed in on an acupoint called ST25 near the belly region.
We Need New, Safer Ways to Treat Pain. Could Electroacupuncture Be One?|Shelly Fan|August 18, 2020|Singularity Hub
In its belly, scientists found mostly fern leaves along with small amounts of palmlike cycads and conifer needles.
Fossil stomach reveals a dinosaur’s last meal|Carolyn Wilke|July 7, 2020|Science News For Students
The vehicle spun its two front wheels to shove under its belly the seeds that had been ahead of it.
Wiggly wheels might help rovers plow through loose lunar soils|Maria Temming|June 26, 2020|Science News For Students
She attends hip-hop and belly dance classes (known as Arabic dance in Iran) just to shine more at parties.
Iran’s Becoming a Footloose Nation as Dance Lessons Spread|IranWire|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
He holds them on his belly and looks at them with a magnifying glass, studying possible escape routes.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
All you could see was the area from her belly button to her knees.
Will the Vatican Finally Hold This Kansas City Bishop Accountable?|Barbie Latza Nadeau|October 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A major surgery requiring plastic mesh sewn into her belly saved her life.
Why Your Doctor Feels Like a 'Beaten Dog'|Daniela Drake|September 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When you crush an insect, you have all these long worms uncoiling from the belly.
Vampires without Glitter or Girl Problems: Inside Guillermo del Toro’s ‘The Strain’|Andrew Romano|July 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Metrodorus said, “That he had learnt Ἀληθως γαστρὶ χαρίζεσθαι, to give his belly just thanks for all his pleasures.”
Essays|Abraham Cowley
Above dark brown; throat and belly whitish; breast and sides brown.
Color Key to North American Birds|Frank M. Chapman
The rope is now drawn through the ring until it forms a tight loop, encircling the belly just in front of the hind limbs.
Special Report on Diseases of Cattle|U.S. Department of Agriculture
The piano in Bezuquet's shop mouldered away under a green fungus, and the Spanish flies dried upon it, belly up.
Tartarin of Tarascon|Alphonse Daudet
I dipped under the horse's belly, and got on the opposite side from him.
The Book of Enterprise and Adventure|Anonymous
British Dictionary definitions for belly
belly
/ (ˈbɛlɪ) /
nounplural-lies
the lower or front part of the body of a vertebrate, containing the intestines and other abdominal organs; abdomenRelated adjective: ventral
the stomach, esp when regarded as the seat of gluttony
a part, line, or structure that bulges deeplythe belly of a sail
the inside or interior cavity of somethingthe belly of a ship
the front or inner part or underside of something
the surface of a stringed musical instrument over which the strings are stretched
the thick central part of certain muscles
Australian and NZthe wool from a sheep's belly
tanningthe portion of a hide or skin on the underpart of an animal
archerythe surface of the bow next to the bowstring
archaicthe womb
go belly upinformalto die, fail, or come to an end
verb-lies, -lyingor-lied
to swell out or cause to swell out; bulge
Word Origin for belly
Old English belig; related to Old High German balg, Old Irish bolg sack, Sanskrit barhi chaff