What does "belly" mean?
The abdomen (especially a fat one).
Belly
/ˈbɛli/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The abdomen (especially a fat one).
- Grammar: belly is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: abdomen, stomach, midriff, abdomen.
- Useful contrasts: back, bosoms, edge.
- Usage evidence: I think it's about time you stopped putting your belly before your looks.
How to use "belly"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "belly" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "belly" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "belly" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "belly" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "belly" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "abdomen" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "belly", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The abdomen (especially a fat one).
"You've grown a belly over Christmas! Time to join the gym again."
- 2 the underpart of the body of certain vertebrates such as snakes or fish wordnet
- 3 stomach (an organ in animals that stores food in the process of digestion)
"My belly was full of wine."
- 4 a protruding abdomen wordnet
- 5 uterus (a reproductive organ of therian mammals in which the young are conceived and develop until birth) countable
"Before I formed thee in the bellie, I knew thee; […]"
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 the region of the body of a vertebrate between the thorax and the pelvis wordnet
- 7 The lower fuselage of an airplane.
"There was no heat, and we shivered in the belly of the plane."
- 8 the hollow inside of something wordnet
- 9 The part of anything which resembles (either closely or abstractly) the human belly in protuberance or in concavity; often, the fundus (innermost part).
"the belly of a flask, muscle, violin, sail, or ship"
- 10 a part that bulges deeply wordnet
- 11 The part of anything which resembles (either closely or abstractly) the human belly in protuberance or in concavity; often, the fundus (innermost part).; The main curved portion of a knife blade.
- 12 The part of anything which resembles (either closely or abstractly) the human belly in protuberance or in concavity; often, the fundus (innermost part).; The hollow part of a curved or bent timber, the convex part of which is the back.
Verb
- 1 To position one’s belly; to move on one’s belly.
"Bellying forward to the edge of the clearing, he found Hans, lying on his face, feathered with arrows like a porcupine."
- 2 swell out or bulge out wordnet
- 3 To swell and become protuberant; to bulge or billow. intransitive
"The Pow'r appeaſ'd, with Winds ſuffic'd the Sail, / The bellying Canvaſs ſtrutted with the Gale; […]"
- 4 To cause to swell out; to fill. transitive
"Your breath of full consent bellied his sails; […]"
Example
"I think it's about time you stopped putting your belly before your looks."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "belly"?
Common synonyms include: abdomen, stomach, midriff, abdomen, abdomens, abomasum.
How do you use "belly" in a sentence?
I think it's about time you stopped putting your belly before your looks.
How do you pronounce "belly"?
Pronounced /ˈbɛli/.
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English bely, beli, bali, below, belew, balyw, from Old English bielġ (“bag, pouch, bulge”), from Proto-West Germanic *balgi, *balgu, from Proto-Germanic *balgiz, *balguz (“skin, hide, bellows, bag”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵʰ- (“to swell, blow up”). Cognate with Dutch balg, German Balg, Danish bælg, Old Irish bolg, Welsh bol. Doublet of bellows, blague, bulge, and budge. See also bellows. For the belly — bellows connection compare typologically Macedonian мев (mev, “abdomen, belly; bellows”). Also compare Ancient Greek φῦσα (phûsa, “bellows; bladder; ...”), Latin venter — vēsīca, Russian пу́зо (púzo) — пузы́рь (puzýrʹ), пузырёк (puzyrjók).