Transcription
-
- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
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- [bel-ee uhp]
- /ˈbɛl i ʌp/
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
-
- [bel-ee uhp]
- /ˈbɛl i ʌp/
Definitions of belly up words
- phrase belly up If a company goes belly up, it does not have enough money to pay its debts. 3
- noun belly up to stand or step close as to a counter or railing 3
- noun plural belly up the front or under part of a vertebrate body from the breastbone to the pelvis, containing the abdominal viscera; the abdomen. 1
- noun plural belly up the stomach with its adjuncts. 1
- noun plural belly up appetite or capacity for food; gluttony. 1
- noun plural belly up the womb. 1
Information block about the term
Origin of belly up
First appearance:
before 950 One of the 4% oldest English words
before 950; Middle English bely, Old English belig, belg bag, skin; cognate with German Balg, Gothic balgs, Old Norse belgr sack; akin to Welsh bol(a), boly, Irish bolg sack, belly, bellows, Serbo-Croatian blàzina, Latvian pabàlsts, Avestan barəziš-, Persian bālish cushion
Historical Comparancy
Parts of speech for Belly up
noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
belly up popularity
A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 98% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".
belly up usage trend in Literature
This diagram is provided by Google Ngram ViewerSynonyms for belly up
verb belly up
- topple — to fall forward, as from having too heavy a top; pitch; tumble down.
- founder — a person who founds or casts metal, glass, etc.
- disintegrate — to separate into parts or lose intactness or solidness; break up; deteriorate: The old book is gradually disintegrating with age.
- faint — lacking brightness, vividness, clearness, loudness, strength, etc.: a faint light; a faint color; a faint sound.
- shatter — to break (something) into pieces, as by a blow.
adj belly up
- dead — A person, animal, or plant that is dead is no longer living.
- destroyed — to reduce (an object) to useless fragments, a useless form, or remains, as by rending, burning, or dissolving; injure beyond repair or renewal; demolish; ruin; annihilate.
- done for — past participle of do1 .
- down the drain — If you say that something is going down the drain, you mean that it is being destroyed or wasted.
- finished — ended or completed.
Antonyms for belly up
verb belly up
- straighten — make straight
- accomplish — If you accomplish something, you succeed in doing it.
- achieve — If you achieve a particular aim or effect, you succeed in doing it or causing it to happen, usually after a lot of effort.
- mend — to make (something broken, worn, torn, or otherwise damaged) whole, sound, or usable by repairing: to mend old clothes; to mend a broken toy.
- invigorate — to give vigor to; fill with life and energy; energize.
See also
Matching words
- Words starting with b
- Words starting with be
- Words starting with bel
- Words starting with bell
- Words starting with belly
- Words starting with bellyu
- Words starting with bellyup