belly flop

Definition of belly flop

1 : a dive (as into water or in coasting prone on a sled) in which the front of the body strikes flat against another surface

— called also belly flopper

2 : a complete and often painful or embarrassing failure : flop … instead of doing a belly flop at the box office, Vampire soared …— Jeff Gordinier

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Examples of belly flop in a Sentence

She did a belly flop into the pool.

Recent Examples on the Web The school released video, which has almost reached one million views, of the coach executing a belly flop. — Mark Heim | Mheim@al.com, al, "Watch Washington State’s Mike Leach hit the pool, nail the belly flop," 6 Aug. 2019 One of them did a flip and then the other one that made the movie kind of fell over and did a belly flop. — Gabe Bergado, Teen Vogue, "Billie Lourd Wishes She Had a Movie Like "Booksmart" When She Was in High School," 20 May 2019 One North Carolina toddler’s fearless attempt at a dive into a backyard pool may have been a total flop, but the two-year-old’s hilarious belly flop has charmed the internet. — Janine Puhak, Fox News, "North Carolina toddler’s belly flop goes viral," 22 July 2018 After some comedy gold and a few belly flops, the queens took it to the runway in their best denim drag, inspired by queen of country and one of Thursday night’s guest judges Shania Twain. — Stephen Daw, Billboard, "Eliminated Queen Mayhem Miller Talks Friendships With 'Drag Race' Alumni, California Drag Scene & More," 20 Apr. 2018 Somersaulting through the air, diving into a web of spinning jump ropes, performing dangerous belly flops and bouncing upright seconds later, the Chicago Boyz Acrobatic Team commands attention with its high-energy act. — Peggy O’hare, San Antonio Express-News, "Chicago Boyz wowing crowds at San Antonio stock show grounds," 22 Feb. 2018 Visitors were clearly delighted, however, to encounter a giant panda cub climbing a tree before falling to the ground in a majestic belly flop. — Meilan Solly, Smithsonian, "Watch: The Panda Cub’s Favorite Game Is Belly Flopping Out of Trees," 10 July 2017

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

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The first known use of belly flop was circa 1890

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