stomach

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   The organ in the body where food goes after you swallow it and where digestion begins.

   Grammar: Countable: one stomach, two stomachs; often used with possessives like my, your, his.

   Patterns

   • on an empty stomach
   • a full stomach
   • stomach ache
   • stomach pains

   You should not take these pills on an empty stomach.

   He complained of a sharp pain in his stomach after lunch.

   The doctor said her stomach was producing too much acid.

2. 2nouncountable

   The front part of the body below the chest, where the stomach is; the belly.

   Grammar: Often used in everyday speech for the visible area of the body, not just the organ.

   Patterns

   • lie on your stomach
   • a flat stomach
   • hold your stomach in

   She lay on her stomach on the beach towel.

   He sucked his stomach in as the photographer counted down.

   The baby slept peacefully on her stomach.

3. 3verbtransitive

   To be able to accept or endure something unpleasant without complaining.

   Grammar: Takes an object: stomach an insult. Almost always used in negative sentences or questions.

   Patterns

   • can't stomach something
   • couldn't stomach doing something
   • can hardly stomach something

   I can't stomach his constant excuses for being late.

   She couldn't stomach the idea of working for him again.

   He can hardly stomach the smell of fish.

Word forms

Common combinations

on an empty stomach

Don't drink coffee on an empty stomach.

stomach ache

The child stayed home with a stomach ache.

turn your stomach

The smell of rotten meat turned my stomach.

butterflies in your stomach

I had butterflies in my stomach before the interview.

stomach pump

The patient had his stomach pumped at the hospital.

Synonyms and how they differ

belly

More informal and usually refers to the visible front of the body, not the organ itself.

tummy

Childish or affectionate; common in everyday speech with children, not in medical contexts.

abdomen

Technical and medical; refers to the whole lower body cavity, not just the stomach organ.

Word family

stomachache noun

A pain in the stomach or belly.

stomachic adjective

Technical: helping digestion or relating to the stomach.

Commonly confused: stomach or tummy?

Practice

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