DictionaryAI

belly

BEL-ee/ˈbɛli/

Pluralbellies

Verbbellies, bellying, bellied

8 meanings of belly

Practice

  1. 1
    front of bodynouncountable
    The front of your body below your chest, especially when it is big.

    My grandpa's belly shakes when he laughs.

    The puppy rolled over to have its belly rubbed.

    UsageSay lie on your belly or a big belly.

    Similarstomach, tummy, abdomen, gut, paunch

  2. 2
    stomach (inside)nouncountable
    The stomach, the part inside your body where food goes after you eat it.

    I can't think when my belly is empty.

    Eat some hot soup to fill your belly.

    UsageSay a full belly or an empty belly.

    Similarstomach, tummy, gut

  3. 3
    wombnouncountable
    The womb, the part inside a mother where a baby grows before it is born.

    Mom says my baby brother is growing in her belly.

    The lamb was still in its mother's belly when the storm came.

    UsageDoctors say uterus; womb is also common.

    Similarwomb, uterus

    Note
  4. 4
    nouncountable
    The round or bulging part, bottom, or inside of something, like a ship, a sail, or a glass.

    The wine swirled in the round belly of the glass.

    Wind filled the belly of the sail and pushed the boat forward.

    UsageSay the belly of a ship or a plane.

    Similarinterior, depths, heart, hold, bowels

    Note
  5. 5
    move on frontverbintransitive
    To put your belly in a place, or to move along on your belly.

    We had to belly across the floor to stay below the smoke.

    The puppy bellied under the fence to get into the yard.

    UsageSay belly up to the bar, or belly under a fence.

    Similarcrawl, creep, slither

    Note

Less common meanings

  1. 6
    verbintransitive
    To puff out in a round shape, or make something do this, like wind in a sail.

    The curtains bellied out when I opened the window.

    The sails began to belly in the strong wind.

    UsageSay the sails bellied out.

    Similarbulge, swell, billow, balloon

    Note
  2. 7
    knife bladenouncountable
    The big curved part of the blade on a knife.

    Use the belly of the knife to chop the onions.

    This knife has a deep belly, so it cuts meat well.

  3. 8
    curved timbernouncountable
    The inside, hollow side of a curved wooden beam.

    The carpenter marked the belly of the curved beam with chalk.

    Put the beam in place with its belly facing down.

    Oppositeback

    Note

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of belly apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

It comes from an Old English word meaning "bag" or "pouch", from an old root meaning "to swell".

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts