belly 1 of 2

noun

ˈbe-lē How to pronounce belly (audio)
Definition of bellynext
1
as in stomach
a need or desire for food as dinnertime approached he could think only of his belly

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in corporation
an enlarged or bulging abdomen worked hard to get rid of his belly in time to attend his class reunion

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3
as in abdomen
the part of the body between the chest and the pelvis a baby with a round little belly

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4
as in soul
the seat of one's deepest thoughts and emotions in my belly I knew that he wasn't telling the truth, as the details of his story just didn't add up

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belly

2 of 2

verb

1
as in to protrude
to extend outward beyond a usual point the sails slowly bellied as the wind picked up

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to snake
to move slowly with the body close to the ground recruits were forced to belly over the obstacle course under simulated enemy fire

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of belly
Noun
Or his flustering a gynecologist by insisting that Julie, whose belly is of mammoth proportions, isn’t really pregnant. — Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 22 Oct. 2026 Then Kip caught himself and, by way of saying thanks, rubbed his belly, smiled big, gave me the finger. — George Saunders, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2026 Asked what was going on in his head during those hours in the belly of the beast, though, Abrams demures. — Brenna Ehrlich, Rolling Stone, 18 Oct. 2026 The trainer noted, however, that exercising the abdominal muscles alone won't eliminate belly fat. — Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 17 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for belly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for belly
  1. stomach
  2. fat
  3. abdomen
  4. soul
  5. protrude
  6. snake
  7. hunger
  8. paunch
Noun
  • The infants would be able to feed to their stomachs’ content on the increasingly ripe meat without getting close to finishing the entire spread laid before them.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Their 8-year-old son was alive, but had been shot in the stomach.
    — Matt Schooley, CBS News, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of stomach
Noun
  • Beef tallow is rendered beef fat used as a cooking oil, and its appeal in restaurant fryers comes down to flavor and heat tolerance.
    — Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Kansas City Star, 21 Oct. 2026
  • After all, not all fats—or the foods that contain them—are created equal.
    — Laura Solla, Vogue, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of fat
Noun
  • The arachnid’s abdomen is made up of neon green cat-eye gel that looks like an eyeball.
    — Margaux Anbouba, Vogue, 20 Oct. 2026
  • The 68-year-old gunman shot the woman in the abdomen in her ninth-floor apartment on Third Ave.
    — John Annese, New York Daily News, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of abdomen
Noun
  • Against the backdrop of seemingly endless violence, artists banded together and dabbled in soul, disco, and jazz as a salve to their suffering.
    — Shy Clara Thompson, Pitchfork, 23 Oct. 2026
  • After Esther’s soul-searching decision to separate, the third season of the show, now streaming, tracks the fallout of their life apart.
    — Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of soul
Verb
  • Once fished to the brink of extinction globally, sand tiger sharks, that iconic aquarium shark with a jaw of protruding, jagged teeth that only a mother could love, have been increasing in the Boston Harbor over the last decade.
    — Asia London Palomba, Christian Science Monitor, 20 Oct. 2026
  • The face is a glossy black plastic with the exterior lenses slightly protruding, keeping the front from looking like a single flat surface.
    — Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of protrude
Verb
  • Longtime collaborator Erik Blood foregrounds Butler’s dry drum machines in the mix, letting every other element shuffle around them, snaking toward the spotlight for a brief moment and retreating back into the brume.
    — Dash Lewis, Pitchfork, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Arthur Russell — Hall’s primary musical collaborator and the artist most associated with his own work — lived on the top floor, a cord of bootleg electricity snaking up from Ginsberg’s window to his apartment.
    — Jack Denton, Vulture, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of snake
Noun
  • Johnson, for instance, says the firm’s research with the the Immersive Experience Institute has shown a hunger in younger generations to embrace spaces such as the Rainforest Cafe.
    — Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026
  • The brothers operate Feed A Family, a program that fights hunger and food insecurity in Mexico.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of hunger
Noun
  • Tall and thin, but with a distinct paunch visible beneath his track suit, the man did not look like a captain of industry.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The hair may be grayer, the paunches a little more pronounced, and the joints a little creakier, but the Jackass promise of delivering the missing link between the Three Stooges and a snuff film remains.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 25 June 2026
Definition of paunch

Phrases Containing belly

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bellwethers
belly
bellyache
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Cite this Entry

“Belly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/belly. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on belly

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about belly

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