BELLY (bellied)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: bellied   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does belly mean? 

• BELLY (noun)
  The noun BELLY has 5 senses:

1. the region of the body of a vertebrate between the thorax and the pelvis

2. a protruding abdomen

3. a part that bulges deeply

4. the hollow inside of something

5. the underpart of the body of certain vertebrates such as snakes or fish

  Familiarity information: BELLY used as a noun is common.

• BELLY (verb)
  The verb BELLY has 1 sense:

1. swell out or bulge out

  Familiarity information: BELLY used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BELLY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The region of the body of a vertebrate between the thorax and the pelvis

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

abdomen; belly; stomach; venter

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

body part (any part of an organism such as an organ or extremity)

Meronyms (parts of "belly"):

bowel; gut; intestine (the part of the alimentary canal between the stomach and the anus)

abdominal wall (a wall of the abdomen)

abdomen; abdominal cavity (the cavity containing the major viscera; in mammals it is separated from the thorax by the diaphragm)

ab; abdominal; abdominal muscle (the muscles of the abdomen)

belly button; bellybutton; navel; omphalos; omphalus; umbilicus (a scar where the umbilical cord was attached)

hypochondrium (the upper region of the abdomen just below the lowest ribs on either side of the epigastrium)

arteria colica; colic artery (arteries that supply blood to the colon)

abdominal aorta (a branch of the descending aorta)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "belly"):

underbelly; underbody (the soft belly or underside of an animal's body)

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

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

Sense 2

Meaning:

A protruding abdomen

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

belly; paunch

Hypernyms ("belly" is a kind 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)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "belly"):

bay window; corporation; pot; potbelly; tummy (slang for a paunch)

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

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

Derivation:

belly (swell out or bulge out)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A part that bulges deeply

Classified under:

Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes

Context example:

the belly of a sail

Hypernyms ("belly" is a kind 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)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The hollow inside of something

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Context example:

in the belly of the ship

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

inside; interior (the inner or enclosed surface of something)

Sense 5

Meaning:

The underpart of the body of certain vertebrates such as snakes or fish

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

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

underpart (a part lying on the lower side or underneath an animal's body)

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

craniate; vertebrate (animals having a bony or cartilaginous skeleton with a segmented spinal column and a large brain enclosed in a skull or cranium)

• BELLY (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they belly    ... he / she / it bellies   
Past simple: bellied   
Past participle: bellied   
-ing form: bellying   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Swell out or bulge out

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

belly; belly out

Hypernyms (to "belly" is one way to...):

intumesce; swell; swell up; tumefy; tumesce (expand abnormally)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

belly (a protruding abdomen)

 Context examples 

I shot one of them through the belly, but before we knew where we were they had us spread-eagled on our backs.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“I have been in a mouse-hole—and in a snail-shell—and down a cow’s throat—and in the wolf’s belly; and yet here I am again, safe and sound.”

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

The belly flashed white in swift upward rush.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

He was lying on his belly on the floor licking up, like a dog, the blood which had fallen from my wounded wrist.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

The Lactobacillus family has been shown to slash belly fat as well as reduce the number of calories taken from food.

(Supplements of 'Good Bacteria' Can Enhance Weight Loss in Dieters, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

At the sides the horses were above the belly, and in the centre a man from the poop could scarce touch the deck with a seven-foot spear.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Boys may be taller than other boys their age, with more fat around the belly.

(Klinefelter's Syndrome, NIH: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)

Of or involving the back and belly of the main body.

(Dorsoventral, NCI Thesaurus)

Scientists surmised that the molecule was spontaneously thrown together within the bellies of these gas giants and, as Sousa-Silva describes, violently dredged up by huge, planet-sized convective storms.

(Poisonous Earthly Molecule May Be Sign of Extraterrestrial Life, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

It is a small, green parrot with a yellow belly and large head.

(Aboriginal Rangers Find Evidence of One of Australia’s Rarest Birds, VOA)