abdomen

noun

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ab·do·men | \ ˈab-də-mən

, -ˌdō-; əb-ˈdō-mən, ab-

plural abdomens

Definition of abdomen

1 : the part of the body between the thorax and the pelvis … well-defined reddish lesions that can appear anywhere on the body but most often on the thighs and abdomen …— Susan Logan-McCracken also : the cavity of the abdomen that is lined by peritoneum, is bounded above by the diaphragm, anteriorly by a wall of muscle and tissue, and posteriorly by the spinal column, is continuous below with the pelvic cavity, and contains many of the visceral organs and especially those involved in digestion (such as the stomach, liver, pancreas, kidneys, and intestines) : abdominal cavity Removal of the gallbladder—a pear-shaped sac in the right side of your abdomen—has little adverse effect on digestion. — The Mayo Clinic Health Letter

2 : the posterior section of the body behind the thorax in an arthropod On a nearby table was a … dish of ants that looked familiar except that they had been feeding on peach nectar and the abdomen of each was a large, swollen, translucent sac. — The New Yorker — see insect illustration

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Examples of abdomen in a Sentence

showed us a tiny tattoo on her abdomen, right next to her belly button

Recent Examples on the Web Brown fired shots, striking Townsend in the abdomen and left arm. — oregonlive, 27 July 2022 On Sunday evening at around 6 p.m., a 16-year-old male was shot and killed on the city's South Side after being shot in the abdomen. — Adam Sabes, Fox News, 25 July 2022 In the March shooting, a teen was grazed by a bullet; and in the June incident, a 20-year-old was shot in the abdomen, according to news reports. — The Oregonian/oregonlive, oregonlive, 14 July 2022 During the altercation, Johnston shot Hoskins in the abdomen with a 9 mm handgun, police said. — Cameron Knight, The Enquirer, 21 June 2022 Police said the victim, a 70-year-old man, was standing on the platform when a young man stabbed him in the abdomen with an unknown weapon. — Lyndsay Winkley, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 June 2022 Two days before that, on May 17, a 7-year-old boy was grazed in the abdomen by a bullet that had accidentally discharged from a 9mm semiautomatic gun that was in an 8-year-old boy's backpack. — Li Cohen, CBS News, 25 May 2022 Another jury found Jones guilty of beating his girlfriend’s 4-year old daughter in the abdomen to the point of death. — Joseph Darius Jaafari, The Arizona Republic, 23 May 2022 The girl was shot in the abdomen when a man on a scooter attempted to shoot another person running down the street, NYPD Assistant Chief Philip Rivera said at a news conference. — Kiely Westhoff And Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN, 17 May 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'abdomen.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for abdomen

borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French, borrowed from Latin abdōmen "fat underpart of an animal, belly, paunch," of uncertain origin

Note: Often seen as a derivative of abdere, "to hide, conceal," i.e., "that which is hidden," based on a nominal ablaut form *dhoh₁- from the root *dheh₁- "put." However, Latin abdōmen refers primarily to a body part of animals, and more or less humorously of humans; such usage suggests something prominent rather than something concealed, so the derivation looks somewhat unlikely.

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Last Updated

5 Aug 2022

Cite this Entry

“Abdomen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/abdomen. Accessed 9 Aug. 2022.

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More Definitions for abdomen

abdomen

noun

ab·do·men | \ ˈab-də-mən

, ab-ˈdō- \

Kids Definition of abdomen

1 : the part of the body between the chest and the hips including the cavity containing the stomach and other digestive organs

2 : the hind part of the body of an arthropod (as an insect)

abdomen

noun

ab·do·men | \ ˈab-də-mən, -ˌdō-; əb-ˈdō-mən, ab-

Medical Definition of abdomen

1a : the part of the body between the thorax and the pelvis with the exception of the back

— called also belly

b : the cavity of this part of the trunk lined by the peritoneum, enclosed by the body walls, the diaphragm, and the pelvic floor, and containing the visceral organs (as the stomach, intestines, and liver)

c : the portion of this cavity between the diaphragm and the brim of the pelvis — compare pelvic cavity

2 : the posterior often elongated region of the body behind the thorax in arthropods