belly
noun /ˈbeli/
/ˈbeli/
(plural bellies)
Idioms - the part of the body below the chest synonym stomach, gut
- They crawled along on their bellies.
Extra ExamplesTopics Bodyc1- He's so fat, his belly hangs over his trousers.
- I filled my belly with a sausage sandwich.
- She felt the child in her belly kick.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- empty
- full
- flat
- …
- pat
- rub
- scratch
- …
- bulge
- hang
- swell
- …
- in somebody’s belly
- (literary) the round or curved part of an object
enlarge image- the belly of a ship
- -bellied(in adjectives) having the type of belly mentioned
- swollen-bellied
- round-bellied
More Like This Compound adjectives for physical characteristicsCompound adjectives for physical characteristics- -beaked
- -bellied
- -billed
- -blooded
- -bodied
- -cheeked
- -chested
- -eared
- -eyed
- -faced
- -fingered
- -footed
- -haired
- -handed
- -headed
- -hearted
- -hipped
- -lidded
- -limbed
- -mouthed
- -necked
- -nosed
- -skinned
- -tailed
- -throated
- -toothed
Word OriginOld English belig ‘bag’, of Germanic origin, from a base meaning ‘swell, be inflated’.
Idioms
fire in the/your belly
- a very strong desire to achieve something
- You need fire in your belly if you want to make it in the music business.
go belly up
- (informal) to fail completely
- Last year the business went belly up after one of the partners resigned.