belly
belly — noun
1. the soft area at the front of a person's or animal's body, between the chest and
the soft area at the front of a person's or animal's body, between the chest and the legs, where food is digested.
Aiko rubbed her belly after eating two large bowls of noodles for lunch.
rub one's belly after eating
The little dog rolled onto its back so Zane could scratch its soft belly.
scratch + animal's belly
Kenji felt the baby kick inside his belly during the late evening film.
After the hot curry, Daniel had a sharp pain in his belly all night.
The yoga teacher told us to breathe deeply and let our bellies rise and fall.
- back
the opposite side of the body
用法筆記
Less clinical than 'abdomen' and warmer than 'stomach'; common when speaking about babies, animals, or one's own body in casual settings. In formal writing or medical contexts, prefer 'abdomen'.
常見錯誤
2. the rounded or bulging section of an object that resembles the curved front of a
the rounded or bulging section of an object that resembles the curved front of a body, such as the wide middle of a jar, ship, plane, or guitar.
The cargo was stored deep in the belly of the ship during the long Atlantic crossing.
the belly of the ship
Workers loaded suitcases into the belly of the plane before the morning flight to Tokyo.
the belly of the plane
The wide belly of the clay pot held nearly five litres of cooking oil.
Quinn tapped the belly of the guitar to test its rich, warm sound.
文法句型
the belly of + noun
用法筆記
Almost always used in the pattern 'the belly of [noun]'. Common with vessels (ship, plane, pot, bottle), instruments (guitar, violin), and natural shapes (mountain, cloud). Rarely used as a bare noun in this sense.
常見錯誤
belly — verb
1. to curve outward in a rounded shape, or to make something curve outward, especia
to curve outward in a rounded shape, or to make something curve outward, especially when air or wind pushes against a flexible surface like a sail or curtain.
The white sails bellied out as the strong wind pushed the small boat across the bay.
sails belly out + wind
A sudden gust bellied the thin curtains into the middle of the bedroom.
transitive: gust + bellies + curtains
The old tent sides bellied inwards under the weight of the wet snow.
Aiko watched the parachute belly out in the bright morning sky above the field.
- deflate
to lose air and shrink
文法句型
belly out
wind bellies the sail
用法筆記
Mainly literary or descriptive. Subjects are typically flexible surfaces (sails, curtains, parachutes, tents); the cause is usually wind or pressure. The phrasal form 'belly out' is more common than the bare verb.
常見錯誤
2. to move forward slowly while lying flat on the front of one's body, usually to s
to move forward slowly while lying flat on the front of one's body, usually to stay low and out of sight.
The young soldiers bellied across the muddy field to avoid the searchlights overhead.
belly across + place
Aiko bellied under the low fence to chase his football into the neighbour's garden.
belly under + obstacle
The hunter bellied through the tall grass, holding his breath as the deer raised its head.
Zane bellied along the dusty floor, looking for his earring beneath the bed.
文法句型
belly + along/under/across
用法筆記
Always paired with a directional preposition (across, under, through, along). Strong association with stealth or hiding (soldiers, hunters, children). Standalone use without a preposition is unusual.