belly flop

noun

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

With the Ken Hitchcock reunion having belly flopped in a pile of average, the Dallas Stars did not grab another retread to coach their team back to relevance. — Mac Engel, star-telegram, "Success level of new Stars coach will decide fate of his general manager | Fort Worth Star-Telegram," 2 May 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.