belly flop

noun

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

belly flop intransitive verb

Examples of belly flop in a Sentence

She did a belly flop into the pool.

Recent Examples on the Web

To his credit, Johnson addressed the movie’s belly flop at the box office with candor and with maturity. —Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 12 Nov. 2025

In Episode 2, wouldn’t tech-savvy Claudette have a proper iPhone case that would survive a three-story belly flop? —Nick Caruso, TVLine, 5 Sep. 2025

An early version of Starship tried to bleed off that kinetic energy with a kind of aerodynamic belly flop that ended in a catastrophic loss of control. —Adam Rogers, Scientific American, 21 Aug. 2025

In short, the potential for a legendary belly flop in season two was massive. —Joe Reid, Vulture, 15 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1890, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for belly flop

• barbershop
• countertop
• lollipop
• mountaintop
• overtop
• photoshop
• tabletop
• turboprop
• atop
• backdrop
• backstop
• bebop

Kids Definition

belly flop

noun

: a dive (as into the water) in which the front of the body lands flat

belly flop verb