bellying

verb

present participle of belly
1
as in protruding
to extend outward beyond a usual point the sails slowly bellied as the wind picked up

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in creeping
to move slowly with the body close to the ground recruits were forced to belly over the obstacle course under simulated enemy fire

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for bellying
  1. protruding
  2. creeping
  3. poking
  4. sliding
  5. bulging
  6. snaking
  7. crawling
Verb
  • Tap the Cleaning Path Preferences tab to choose between Full Coverage Mode, which provides the most thorough cleaning coverage for square and rectangular pools, and Edge Guard Mode, designed for pools with protruding edges (coping).
    — John R. Delaney, PC Magazine, 6 Aug. 2026
  • At first, 17-year-old Khloe Aguiar didn’t want to climb the over 100-foot ladder protruding out of the fire truck.
    — Julianna Mejia July 31, Kansas City Star, 31 July 2026
Definition of protruding
Verb
  • There are no shortage of issues with this club, but one that is creeping back into its clubhouse, and the franchise, is comfort.
    — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 Aug. 2026
  • The prospect of deploying fully autonomous drones on the battlefield may seem to be creeping closer.
    — Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of creeping
Verb
  • At first glance, corals present as little more than colorful rocks — piles of lobes, stalagmites, and branches poking out from the seafloor.
    — Marlowe Starling, Quanta Magazine, 5 Aug. 2026
  • Carpenter suggests applying it to vertical surfaces, or using soaked cotton balls in open glass jars (or poking holes in the lids to allow the fumes to escape).
    — The Spruce, The Spruce, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of poking
Verb
  • An Intensity Slider – a simple sliding bar adjustment for controlling the depth, vibrancy, brightness and contrast of the TV’s pictures to compensate for viewing angles, onscreen reflections and simply different viewing tastes.
    — John Archer, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2026
  • Originally housing offices, its heyday in Detroit’s industrial age was brief, sliding into decline in the 1960s and ultimately going vacant.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 July 2026
Definition of sliding
Verb
  • Okegbe recommends immediately discarding any can that’s bulging, leaking, heavily rusted, or dented.
    — Jamie Cuccinelli, Martha Stewart, 26 July 2026
  • An aneurysm is a weakened or bulging artery wall, and coiling is a procedure used to block blood flow to the aneurysm, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
    — Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 23 July 2026
Definition of bulging
Verb
  • Previously centered on Nashville and central Tennessee, the district now extends to the northwest corner of the state before snaking south along the Mississippi River to Memphis.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 6 Aug. 2026
  • Towering over the Central Business District and the snaking ribbon of the Waller Creek Greenbelt Trail, this 37-story hotel stands out amidst the Austin skyline.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 July 2026
Definition of snaking
Verb
  • The feat, says study coauthor and NSO senior scientist Friedrich Wöger, is equivalent to seeing ants crawling on Earth’s surface from an altitude of 100 miles (about 160 km).
    — Lee Billings, Scientific American, 5 Aug. 2026
  • If your garden has been beset by destructive crawling insects like ants, beetles, and slugs, pesticides often seem like the clear solution.
    — Abby Monteil, The Spruce, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of crawling
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.

Browse Nearby Words

bellyfuls
bellying
bellying up
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Bellying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bellying. Accessed 8 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on bellying

Nglish: Translation of bellying for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of nurture

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

'Sneaked' or 'Snuck': Which is correct?

Why does English have so many silent letters?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Aug. 7

How long is a jiffy?
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
fridge-magnet-letters
Drop a Letter Quiz August 2026 Drop a letter from a word to make a totally diffe...
See All