belch

Meanings

1. 1verbintransitiveinformal

   To let air from your stomach come up through your mouth with a loud sound.

   Grammar: No object: he belched loudly after dinner.

   Patterns

   • belch loudly
   • belch after something

   He belched loudly and then apologized to everyone at the table.

   The baby belched after drinking the bottle.

   She tried not to belch during the meeting after the fizzy drink.

2. 2verbtransitive or intransitivefigurative

   To send out a large amount of smoke, flame, gas or fumes with force.

   Grammar: With an object (the chimney belched smoke) or without (smoke belched out).

   Patterns

   • belch smoke
   • belch out of something
   • belch something out

   The old factory belched black smoke into the sky.

   Flames belched from the engine as the car sped away.

   The volcano belched ash across the valley.

3. 3nouncountableinformal

   The sound or act of bringing up air from the stomach through the mouth.

   Grammar: Countable: a loud belch.

   Patterns

   • let out a belch
   • a loud belch

   A loud belch echoed through the quiet classroom.

   He let out a belch and then giggled.

   The soda caused a series of small belches.

4. 4nouncountablefigurative

   A sudden burst of smoke, flame or gas from something.

   Grammar: Usually followed by of: a belch of smoke.

   Patterns

   • a belch of smoke
   • a belch of flame

   A belch of smoke came from the tailpipe.

   The truck gave a belch of black exhaust as it started.

   A belch of steam rose from the vent.

Word forms

Common combinations

belch loudly

He belched loudly at the dinner table.

belch smoke

The ship belched smoke as it left the harbor.

belch fire

The dragon in the film belched fire at the castle.

belch out

Chimneys belch out dark clouds over the town.

let out a belch

The toddler let out a belch and laughed.

Synonyms and how they differ

burp

Burp is the milder, more child-friendly word for the bodily sense, whereas belch sounds louder and ruder.

spew

Spew suggests a stronger, more continuous flow of liquid or smoke, and can describe vomiting.

emit

Emit is a formal neutral word for giving off light or gas and lacks the noisy, rough feeling of belch.

erupt

Erupt is used for a sudden violent burst, such as a volcano, and does not have the bodily sense of belch.

Word family

belching noun

the act of bringing up air from the stomach

belcher noun

a person or thing that belches; rare

Commonly confused: belch or burp? belch or retch?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “belch”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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