as in surplus
the state or an instance of going beyond what is usual, proper, or needed
a bellyful of complaints about the new security procedures
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Recent Examples of bellyful
At dawn, the farmers loaded the trucks with the land’s bellyful of flowers and headed out to sell to the neighboring towns.
—
Literary Hub, 17 Oct. 2025
The apex of that transformation arrived with the N.F.L. planting this year’s event in Las Vegas, where the prevailing ethos might well be that a bellyful of anything is barely enough.
—Billy Witz, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2024
Who wants to talk of destruction with a bellyful of ribs?
—John Kass, chicagotribune.com, 2 July 2019
Go instead for the exquisite acting, the splendiferous set — and a bellyful of laughs.
—Joanne Engelhardt, The Mercury News, 13 June 2019
The ecologist gets his data and the caiman is none the worse for wear, save for losing a bellyful of rotting flesh.
—Jason Bittel, Smithsonian, 11 Oct. 2017
On its way to skim the lake and grab a bellyful of water to drop on a nearby forest fire, a CL-215—also known as Scooper—gave him a nice little haircut.
—Eric Limer, Popular Mechanics, 15 Aug. 2016
Literary Hub, 17 Oct. 2025
The apex of that transformation arrived with the N.F.L. planting this year’s event in Las Vegas, where the prevailing ethos might well be that a bellyful of anything is barely enough.
—Billy Witz, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2024
Who wants to talk of destruction with a bellyful of ribs?
—John Kass, chicagotribune.com, 2 July 2019
Go instead for the exquisite acting, the splendiferous set — and a bellyful of laughs.
—Joanne Engelhardt, The Mercury News, 13 June 2019
The ecologist gets his data and the caiman is none the worse for wear, save for losing a bellyful of rotting flesh.
—Jason Bittel, Smithsonian, 11 Oct. 2017
On its way to skim the lake and grab a bellyful of water to drop on a nearby forest fire, a CL-215—also known as Scooper—gave him a nice little haircut.
—Eric Limer, Popular Mechanics, 15 Aug. 2016
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bellyful
Noun
-
Snowfall Breakdown Precipitation data highlights a surplus of snow, regardless of how the season is measured.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Viewing it releases a surplus of dopamine in the brain that leads your body to crave even more dopamine, creating a cycle of addiction.—
Beth Collums,
AJC.com,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
What happens, though, when those excesses transcend the merely stupid, the merely unjust, to become existential?—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Liberal and conservative polls show the president’s support is cratering across all groups because of ICE’s excesses but especially with independents and Latinos, two constituencies crucial to his 2024 triumph and the future of MAGA.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bellyful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bellyful. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.
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