bellies

Variant of belly

belly definition

belly (bel′ē)

noun pl. bellies -·lies

  1. the lower front part of the human body between the chest and thighs; abdomen
  2. the underside of an animal's body
  3. the abdominal cavity
  4. the stomach
  5. an appetite for food
  6. the deep interior the belly of a ship
  7. any part, surface, or section that curves outward or bulges, as the swelling part of a sail in the wind, the fleshy middle part of a muscle, or the upper surface of a violin
  8. the front part or underside of anything
  9. Archaic the womb

Etymology: ME beli < OE belg, leather bag, purse, bellows < IE base *bhelĝh-, to swell, bag (< *bhel-, to inflate) > Ir bolg, sack, belly, ON bylgja, billow, Goth balgs, leather bottle

transitive verb, intransitive verb bellied -·lied, bellying -·ly·ing

to swell out; curve out; bulge
belly Idioms

belly up

☆
Slang to stand or step close as to a counter or railing

go belly up

Slang
  1. to die: said as of a fish
  2. to fail; often, specif., to become bankrupt

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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