bellies 1 of 2

Definition of belliesnext
plural of belly
1
as in stomachs
an enlarged or bulging abdomen worked hard to get rid of his belly in time to attend his class reunion

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2
as in abdomens
the part of the body between the chest and the pelvis a baby with a round little belly

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3
as in hearts
the seat of one's deepest thoughts and emotions in my belly I knew that he wasn't telling the truth, as the details of his story just didn't add up

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bellies

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of belly

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bellies
Noun
Some stayed standing, while others got in shoulder-deep or even dropped to their bellies. Adam Harrington, CBS News, 1 Mar. 2026 Particularly caring mice dads will groom their pups and even insulate them with their bellies against inclement weather. Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 18 Feb. 2026 Tito’s vodka over the yellow bellies. Andrew Callahan, Twin Cities, 7 Feb. 2026 More food competitions in February and March This isn’t the only competition meant to keep bars and bellies full. Angela George, Sioux Falls Argus Leader, 26 Jan. 2026 Giving them playtime on their bellies can help, as can burping them more frequently during feedings. Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 22 Jan. 2026 With almost no international flights entering or leaving Venezuela, many families had to make alternate arrangements for Christmas this year, living rooms and bellies much emptier than anticipated. Armando Ledezma, New Yorker, 14 Jan. 2026 Pairs of multibar angelfish, with their zebra-like stripes and bright yellow bellies, darted across a field of silvery staghorn coral. Gisela Williams, Travel + Leisure, 8 Jan. 2026 Jared Towers, the executive director of Bay Cetology, a research institute in Alert Bay, British Columbia, told the outlet that the group of orcas rubbing their bellies on the rocks comes from the A5 pod, which is composed of three different families. Angel Saunders, PEOPLE, 6 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bellies
Noun
  • Although the restaurant has served a wide variety of dishes over the years, none have captured locals' hearts and stomachs like Workingman's Friend's enormous, nap-inducing double cheeseburgers.
    Bradley Hohulin, IndyStar, 6 Mar. 2026
  • The training course is specifically designed for women and offers practice in real-world scenarios like self-defense firing while lying on their stomachs and backs.
    ABC News, ABC News, 6 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • Starting in 2013 more than a hundred thousand women received calls about the urgent need to have surgically implanted pelvic mesh removed from their lower abdomens.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 12 Jan. 2026
  • The stingers they are equipped with can be up to about a quarter-inch (6 mm) in length and inject a painful venom – which is stored in large quantities in their abdomens – into their victims.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 5 Dec. 2025
Noun
  • Themed around the concept of play, it was filled with prints of dices, playing cards and board games, which added to takes on tartan and argyle patterns and the duo’s go-to motifs, such as hearts and polka dots.
    Sandra Salibian, Footwear News, 2 Mar. 2026
  • The loops and patterns this pair trades in don’t exactly have hearts, or cores.
    Hattie Lindert, Pitchfork, 2 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • The other two types are subserosal (which protrudes on the outside of the uterus) and intramural (which grow within the muscle layer).
    Beth Krietsch, SELF, 2 Mar. 2026
  • Baleen is a specialized type of bone that protrudes from the jaws like teeth and is used to filter small critters from the ocean water to feed.
    Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 22 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • In southwest Russia, where the border with eastern Ukraine snakes down to the Sea of Azov, lies the city of Rostov-on-Don, which serves as the headquarters of Russia’s Southern Military District.
    Sophie Spiegelberger, New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2026
  • From the mouth of Lake of the Woods, the Warroad River snakes through the middle of the city limits, a few blocks from the headquarters of Marvin Windows and Doors, the employer as synonymous with the town as the sport of hockey.
    Dave Campbell, Chicago Tribune, 6 Feb. 2026
Noun
  • In just this latest example, the people of Lakewood are stuck having to come up with a huge sum of cash that will leave services crippled, rainy day funds depleted, and an immediate future of uncertainty and apprehension, to pay off these billion-dollar corporations.
    Sean Camacho, Denver Post, 4 Mar. 2026
  • Anthropic’s assurances alone won’t satisfy many corporations.
    Barbara Booth, CNBC, 4 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • An estimated 4,300 brave souls took part in the Polar Plunge in Lake Michigan this chilly Sunday, all to benefit Special Olympics Illinois.
    Adam Harrington, CBS News, 1 Mar. 2026
  • But they were met with savage brutality, with as many as 30,000 souls murdered by their own government.
    New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 1 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), a brain aneurysm is a weakened area in an artery that bulges outward and fills with blood.
    Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Bellies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bellies. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.

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