fire in the belly

Meaning

1. 1nounidiominformal

   A burning desire and determination to succeed that pushes a person to work hard and keep going.

   Grammar: Usually follows have or lack: she has fire in the belly.

   Patterns

   • have fire in the belly
   • lack fire in the belly
   • someone with fire in the belly

   The young goalkeeper had fire in the belly and trained every morning before school.

   Investors liked the founder because she clearly had fire in the belly.

   After years of losing, the team seemed to lack fire in the belly.

Common combinations

have fire in the belly

You need fire in the belly to start a business.

lack fire in the belly

The manager said his players lacked fire in the belly.

show fire in the belly

She showed fire in the belly during the debate.

a leader with fire in the belly

The party wanted a leader with fire in the belly.

rekindle fire in the belly

A strong speech helped rekindle fire in the belly of the volunteers.

Synonyms and how they differ

drive

Drive is a plain, general word for motivation, while fire in the belly makes it sound passionate and intense.

determination

Determination stresses refusing to give up, whereas fire in the belly stresses burning enthusiasm as well.

ambition

Ambition is the wish to achieve, and fire in the belly is the energy that carries the wish through.

passion

Passion is strong feeling for something, while fire in the belly points specifically to hunger to succeed.

Opposites

Word family

fire noun

here, intense energy or enthusiasm

belly noun

the stomach area of the body

fiery adjective

full of strong feeling or energy

fired up adjective

excited and eager to act

Commonly confused: fire in the belly or butterflies in the stomach?

Practice

Make it your own

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

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