belly

1 of 2

noun

bel·​ly ˈbe-lē 

plural bellies

1

a

: abdomen sense 1a

tickling the toddler's belly

also : potbelly sense 1

had quite a belly on them

b

: the stomach and its adjuncts

ate till my belly was full

c

: the undersurface of an animal's body

also : hide from this part

d

: womb, uterus

felt the baby kicking in her belly

2

a

: an internal cavity : interior

b

: a central place where something is most prevalent, concentrated, or deeply ingrained

… he became the hottest songwriter in Nashville, an antiauthoritarian smack-dab in the belly of the establishment.

—Tony Scherman

—often used in the phrase the belly of the beast to refer especially to a dangerous or hostile place or situation

Meanwhile, the very best bodies of America are in prison, pumping iron in the belly of the beast.

—Robert Lipsyte

3

: appetite for food

4

: a surface or object curved or rounded like a human belly

5

a

: the enlarged fleshy body of a muscle

b

: the part of a sail that swells out when filled with wind

6

: gut sense 4

belly

2 of 2

verb

bellied; bellying

transitive verb

: to cause to swell or fill out

wind bellying the sails

intransitive verb

1

: swell, fill

2

a

: to slide or crawl on one's belly

b

: belly-land

Synonyms of belly

Noun

• stomach
• hunger
• appetite
• starvation

Verb

• protrude
• poke
• bulge

Examples of belly in a Sentence

Noun

He got down on his belly to crawl.

They slid down the snowy hill on their bellies.

a gray squirrel with a white belly

the belly of an airplane

the belly of a ship

Verb

the sails slowly bellied as the wind picked up

recruits were forced to belly over the obstacle course under simulated enemy fire

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The roughly thirty-pound latex belly that Harbour wore to give Floyd extra heft is on full display in the show’s final episode, when Floyd and Clark strip down to their boxer briefs and dance by the pool lockers in a kind of tête-à-tête disco. —Alexandra Schwartz, New Yorker, 24 Apr. 2026

Curiosity drilled the clay mineral-containing sandstone sample in 2020, pulverized it and placed it within the SAM, or Sample Analysis at Mars, instrument, located in the rover’s belly. —Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 24 Apr. 2026

This included enlarging cabin windows into observation viewports and carving open portals into the belly of the fuselage, allowing high-tech sensors and remote-sensing instruments a clear line of sight to the world below. —Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 24 Apr. 2026

Jenner opted to wear a pair of faded yellow jeans, a Guizio white tank top and a belly chain. —Gabrielle Rockson, PEOPLE, 22 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English bely bellows, belly, from Old English belg bag, skin; akin to Old High German balg bag, skin, Old English blāwan to blow — more at blow entry 1

Verb

verbal derivative of belly entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1606, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Phrases Containing belly

• beer belly
• belly band
• belly button
• belly dance
• belly flop
• belly-land
• belly laugh
• belly-up
• belly up to
• Delhi belly
• go belly-up
• pork belly

Rhymes for belly

• deli
• felly
• jelly
• kellie
• melly
• nellie
• nelly
• shelly
• skelly
• smellie
• smelly
• tele

Kids Definition

belly

1 of 2 noun

bel·​ly ˈbel-ē 

plural bellies

1

a

: abdomen sense 1

b

: the undersurface of an animal's body

also : hide from this part

c

: stomach entry 1 sense 1a

2

: an internal cavity : interior

3

: a curved or rounded surface or object

the belly of an airplane

belly

2 of 2 verb

bellied; bellying

: to swell or bulge out

Medical Definition

belly

noun

bel·​ly ˈbel-ē 

plural bellies

1

a

: abdomen sense 1a

b

: the undersurface of an animal's body

c

: womb, uterus

d

: the stomach and its adjuncts

2

: the enlarged fleshy body of a muscle