belly

/ˈbɛli/

/ˈbɛli/

Other forms: bellies; bellied; bellying

Your belly is your stomach. If you have a belly ache, you have a pain in your abdomen.

Santa Claus is famous for his jolly laugh and his large belly. The word belly is a more casual way to say "stomach" or "abdomen," just as your navel is informally called a "belly button." A less common way to use the word is as a verb meaning "to swell," which is actually the oldest meaning of belly, from the Old English belig, "bag," and a Germanic root meaning "to swell like a bag."

Definitions of belly

1. noun

   the region of the body of a vertebrate between the thorax and the pelvis
   synonyms: abdomen, stomach, venter

   types:

   underbelly, underbody

   the soft belly or underside of an animal's body

   type of:

   body part

   any part of an organism such as an organ or extremity
2. noun

   the underpart of the body of certain vertebrates such as snakes or fish
   type of:

   underpart

   a part lying on the lower side or underneath an animal's body
3. noun

   a protruding abdomen
   synonyms: paunch

   types:

   bay window, corporation, pot, potbelly, tummy

   slang for a paunch

   type of:

   adipose tissue, fat, fatty tissue

   a kind of body tissue containing stored fat that serves as a source of energy; it also cushions and insulates vital organs
4. noun

   a part that bulges deeply
   “the belly of a sail”

   type of:

   bulge, bump, excrescence, extrusion, gibbosity, gibbousness, hump, jut, prominence, protrusion, protuberance, swelling

   something that bulges out or is protuberant or projects from its surroundings
5. noun

   the hollow inside of something
   “in the belly of the ship”

   type of:

   inside, interior

   the inner or enclosed surface of something
6. verb

   swell out or bulge out
   synonyms: belly out

   type of:

   intumesce, swell, swell up, tumefy, tumesce

   expand abnormally