belly

/'beli/
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belly

The kitten lies on its back with its belly exposed.

Definition

  1. Noun:

    • The front part of the human body between the chest and the legs; the abdomen: This is the most common meaning, referring to the stomach area.
    • The underside of the body of an animal: This refers specifically to the lower surface of an animal's body, such as a snake or fish.
    • A bulging or central part of something: This describes a part of an object that curves or swells outward, like the main part of a sail or a rounded container.
    • The hollow interior of something: This is a more literary or figurative use, meaning the inside of a large, often confining, space.

  2. Verb:

    • To swell out or bulge: This describes the action of something becoming rounded and protruding outward.
Examples of Usage

  • Noun:

    • He rubbed his full belly after the big meal. (Referring to the human abdomen.)
    • The cat rolled over to expose its soft, white belly. (Referring to an animal's underside.)
    • The wind filled the belly of the sail. (Referring to the bulging part of a sail.)
    • The miners worked deep in the belly of the earth. (Referring to the interior of the mine.)

  • Verb:

    • The sails bellied out in the strong wind. (Describing the sails swelling.)
Advanced Usage

  • "Belly of the beast": A figurative idiom meaning to be in the most dangerous or central part of a difficult situation.

    • As a war correspondent, she often found herself in the belly of the beast.

  • "To go belly up": An informal idiom meaning to fail completely, especially for a business, or to die (for an animal, often a fish).

    • Several restaurants went belly up during the economic crisis.
Variants and Related Words

  • Bellyful (noun): An amount of food that fills the stomach; also used figuratively to mean more than enough of something unpleasant.

    • I've had a bellyful of your complaints.

  • Bellyache (noun & verb): (Informal) A stomach pain; or to complain persistently and annoyingly.

    • Noun: He had a bellyache from eating too much candy.
    • Verb: Stop bellyaching about the homework and just do it.

  • Belly button (noun): (Informal) The navel.

Synonyms
  • Abdomen (noun): The formal or scientific term for the belly.
  • Stomach (noun): Often used interchangeably with 'belly' for the abdominal area, though it specifically refers to the internal organ.
  • Paunch (noun): A protruding belly, especially on a man.
  • Bulge (verb): To swell or protrude, similar to the verb form.
Related Phrasal Verbs
  • Belly out (phrasal verb): To swell or curve outward. This is the direct phrasal form of the verb.
    • The parachute bellied out as it caught the air.
Related Idioms

  • Belly laugh: A deep, hearty laugh that comes from the abdomen.

    • His joke caused belly laughs throughout the room.

  • Fire in the belly: Strong ambition, drive, or passion.

    • To be a successful entrepreneur, you need fire in your belly.
belly

The kitten lies on its back with its belly exposed.

Noun
  1. the underpart of the body of certain vertebrates such as snakes or fish
  2. the hollow inside of something
    • in the belly of the ship
  3. a part that bulges deeply
    • the belly of a sail
  4. a protruding abdomen
  5. the region of the body of a vertebrate between the thorax and the pelvis
Verb
  1. swell out or bulge out

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