paunch

Other forms: paunches

A paunch is a fat stomach. You might suck in your stomach and tighten your belt to hide your paunch.

You might worry that if you accept your dream job as a cupcake taster, you might develop a paunch — or maybe you don't care too much about that, figuring you'll just buy new pants if you need to. While today a paunch is specifically a chubby or protruding belly, it once meant simply "stomach," from the Latin panticem, "belly," and it may be related to panus, or "swelling."

Definitions of paunch

1. noun

   a protruding abdomen
   synonyms: belly

   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