noun
Meaning 1
The underside of an animal.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
- We identified the species of the snake by its blue-grey underbelly.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
underbelly
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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Received-Pronunciation: /ˈʌn.dəˌbɛl.i/
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Canada, General-American: /ˈʌn.dɚˌbɛl.i/
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Australian: /ˈan.dəˌbel.i/
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Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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CMU ARPABET: AH1 N D ER0 B EH2 L IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
noun
Meaning 2
The underside of any thing.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
The side which is not normally seen, normally a dark, immoral place.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: figuratively
Examples
- The area by the canal is the underbelly of town – not something you’d see in the guidebooks.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 4
the quality of being weak or unprotected- Winston Churchill
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- the soft underbelly of the Axis
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: weak part, weak spot, soft spot
noun
Meaning 5
the soft belly or underside of an animal's body
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: underbody
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: abdomen, venter, stomach, belly
noun
Meaning 6
lower side
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- the underbellies of clouds
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: bottom, underside, undersurface
History
Etymology
From under- + belly.
Across languages
Translations
5 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- German: dunkle Seite — side which is not normally seen
- German: Schattenseite — side which is not normally seen
- German: Unterseite — side which is not normally seen
- Greek: υπογάστριο (ypogástrio) — side which is not normally seen
- Spanish: vientre — side which is not normally seen
Real reading context