[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/belly.html)

[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/) / [The school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/) / belly

[← B](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/B/)

# belly

«belly» in Mova's school dictionary: **The front part of the body between the chest and the…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a belly, bellies)

### meaning for a pupil

1) The front part of the body between the chest and the legs, where the stomach is; the tummy. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/belly/#m1)

2) The stomach, where food goes. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/belly/#m2)

3) The rounded underside of an animal or of a thing like a plane or a boat. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/belly/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In everyday life, children say tummy or belly; doctors say abdomen. In science, an animal's belly is its underside, often paler in colour. In stories, «belly laugh» is a big deep laugh, and a full belly means someone has eaten well. Phrases: «belly button», «belly laugh», «belly flop» (a painful flat dive), «on its belly», «a full belly».

### examples

- The baby giggled when I tickled her belly. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/belly/#x1)
- The dog rolled over to have its belly rubbed. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/belly/#x2)
- My belly is full after that big dinner. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/belly/#x3)
- A snake slides along on its belly. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/belly/#x4)
- He did a belly flop into the pool and it stung. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/belly/#x5)
- Your belly button is where the cord joined you to your mum. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/belly/#x6)
- The plane's belly touched the runway. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/belly/#x7)
- Santa had a round belly that shook when he laughed. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/belly/#x8)
- The Members of the Body once rebelled against the Belly. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/belly/#x9)

### note

Plural: bellies (y → ies). «Belly» is a bit informal; «stomach» or «tummy» are also used, and «abdomen» is the scientific word. A real «stomach» is one organ inside the belly; a tummy ache can come from other organs too.

### In the corpora

- [A penguin's black back and white belly are camouflage called countershading, which many fish and sharks have too.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/129-madagascar-real-penguins-and-chimps/10/)
- [Hatchetfish have thin silver bodies, lights on their bellies, and eyes that point upwards to spot food falling from above.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/175-the-twilight-zone-barreleyes-lanternfish-and-the-biggest-daily-journey-on-earth/10/)
- [Male sandgrouse soak their belly feathers at a waterhole and fly many kilometres back to their chicks, which drink from the wet feathers.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/182-deserts-of-the-world-fennec-foxes-fog-drinking-beetles-camels-and-silver-ants/16/)
- [Picture an animal so tall that a giraffe could almost walk under its belly.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/384-mammal-giants-of-the-past-paraceratherium-diprotodon-the-giant-beaver-and-gigantopithecus/0/)
- ["Baby bump" means a belly that clearly shows a pregnancy.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/11-pregnancy-and-birth/18/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «belly» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/belly/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.