belch

verb \ ˈbelch \

Updated on: 2 Apr 2018

Definition of belch

intransitive verb

1 : to expel gas suddenly from the stomach through the mouth

2 : to erupt, explode, or detonate violently

3 : to issue forth spasmodically : gush

transitive verb

1 : to eject or emit violently

angrily belched insults

2 : to expel (gas) from the stomach suddenly : eruct

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belch

noun

See belch defined for English-language learners

See belch defined for kids

Examples of belch in a Sentence

He belched loudly, and his girlfriend said, “That's disgusting!”.
Smoke belched from the factory chimneys beside the river.

Recent Examples of belch from the Web

Only a thriving planetary population of methane-belching bacteria could account for the gas.

— lee billings, Scientific American, "A New Recipe for Hunting Alien Life," 24 Jan. 2018
Oil belched into the waters of the Gulf until the end of July, some 3.19 million barrels of it.

— charles p. pierce, Esquire, "Lessons, Unlearned," 12 Mar. 2018
In a flash, the supervolcano belched out a thousand cubic miles of rock and dust, sending debris miles into the air and leaving a scar in the earth more than 60 miles wide.

— National Geographic, "These Ancient Humans Survived a Supervolcano," 12 Mar. 2018
Here, cement, ceramics and chemical factories belch thick smoke, and when the wind blows from the south, a toxic cloud is sent north and toward the capital.

— simon denyer, Washington Post, "Beijing wins battle for blue skies — but the poor are paying a price," 13 Jan. 2018
The pollution-belching factories, dead rivers, and open garbage dumps were finally seen as public dangers, and the sudden disappearance of wildlife — even the bald eagle was close to extinction! — shocked the nation into action.

— ken layne, latimes.com, "Celebrating 50 years of an unforgettable tale of the desert," 9 Feb. 2018
Since the volcano began belching, small pyroclastic flows—avalanches of hot rocks, ash and gas—have also tumbled down its flanks.

— maya wei-haas, Smithsonian, "Geology Makes the Mayon Volcano Visually Spectacular—And Dangerously Explosive," 19 Jan. 2018
Local media reported that the residents of Chaoyang district died before dawn Wednesday after electric bike batteries plugged into a home-rigged charging system caught fire and belched noxious fumes into a three-story apartment building.

— Washington Post, "Another deadly blaze strikes Beijing as evictions draw fury," 13 Dec. 2017
The virtual reality arena has six 12-foot-by-12-foot pads bordered by green LED curtains behind an industrial-type door that appears to be belching steam.

— brian e. clark, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "The Wilderness goes beyond waterparks with new virtual reality experience," 3 Nov. 2017

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