MIDRIFF

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does midriff mean? 

• MIDRIFF (noun)
  The noun MIDRIFF has 2 senses:

1. the middle area of the human torso (usually in front)

2. (anatomy) a muscular partition separating the abdominal and thoracic cavities; functions in respiration

  Familiarity information: MIDRIFF used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• MIDRIFF (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The middle area of the human torso (usually in front)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

middle; midriff; midsection

Context example:

young American women believe that a bare midriff is fashionable

Hypernyms ("midriff" is a kind of...):

area; region (a part of an animal that has a special function or is supplied by a given artery or nerve)

Holonyms ("midriff" is a part of...):

body; torso; trunk (the body excluding the head and neck and limbs)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(anatomy) a muscular partition separating the abdominal and thoracic cavities; functions in respiration

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

diaphragm; midriff

Hypernyms ("midriff" is a kind of...):

membrane; tissue layer (a pliable sheet of tissue that covers or lines or connects the organs or cells of animals or plants)

muscle system; muscular structure; musculature (the muscular system of an organism)

Domain category:

anatomy; general anatomy (the branch of morphology that deals with the structure of animals)

Holonyms ("midriff" is a part of...):

body; torso; trunk (the body excluding the head and neck and limbs)

 Context examples 

In truth, hardy as the man was, his neck had been assuredly broken had he not pitched head first on the very midriff of the drunken artist, who was slumbering so peacefully in the corner, all unaware of these stirring doings.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)