stomach

I. stom‧ach¹ S3 W3 /ˈstʌmək/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French; Origin: estomac, from Latin stomachus 'throat, stomach', from Greek stomachos, from stoma 'mouth']
1. the organ inside your body where food begins to be ↑digested:
I was so hungry my stomach hurt.
His stomach was full of food.
2. the front part of your body, below your chest:
He turned round and punched Carlos in the stomach.
3. do something on an empty stomach to do something when you have not eaten:
You shouldn’t take the pills on an empty stomach.
4. turn your stomach to make you feel sick or upset:
The sight of the slaughtered cow turned my stomach.
5. have no stomach for a fight/task etc to have no desire to do something difficult, upsetting, or frightening
6. have a strong stomach to be able to see or do things that are unpleasant without feeling sick or upset:
Don’t go and see this film unless you have a strong stomach.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ full (=full of food) A lot of these children don't know what it is like to have a full stomach.
▪ empty (=with no food in) It was 11 o'clock, and my stomach was empty.
▪ an upset stomach (=a stomach affected by illness) Debbie was at home because she had an upset stomach.
■ stomach + NOUN
▪ (a) stomach ache I had terrible stomach ache last night.
▪ stomach pains/cramps He complained of acute stomach pains.
▪ a stomach bug (=an illness you have caught that affects your stomach) He's off work with a stomach bug.
▪ a stomach upset (=when your stomach is affected by illness) The boy had a stomach upset after eating berries from the garden.
▪ a stomach ulcer Too much stress can cause stomach ulcers.
▪ stomach cancer She was diagnosed with stomach cancer last year.
■ verbs
▪ somebody's stomach rumbles (=it makes a noise because they are hungry) She felt her stomach rumble.
▪ somebody's stomach churns (=they feel sick because they are nervous or frightened) Her stomach was churning with anxiety.
▪ somebody's stomach lurches/tightens (=it suddenly feels tight because they are frightened) Her stomach lurched at the thought of leaving Millfield.
▪ settle somebody's stomach (=to stop it feeling uncomfortable) The doctor gave me some tablets to settle my stomach.

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

stomach

stom·ach [stomach stomachs stomached stomaching] noun, verb [ˈstʌmək] [ˈstʌmək]

noun
the organ inside the body where food goes when you swallow it; the front part of the body below the chest
• stomach pains
• an upset stomach
• (BrE also) a stomach upset
• exercises to strengthen the stomach muscles
• It's not a good idea to drink (= alcohol) on an empty stomach (= without having eaten anything).
• You shouldn't exercise on a full stomach.
• The attacker kicked him in the stomach.
• Lie on your stomach with your arms by your side.
• They crawled along the ground on their stomachs.

see also tummy
more at have butterflies (in your stomach) at butterfly, sb's eyes are bigger than their stomach at eye _n., feel sick to your stomach at feel _v., in the pit of the/your stomach at pit _n., pump sb's stomach at pump _v., have a strong stomach at strong
Word Origin:
Middle English: from Old French estomac, stomaque, via Latin from Greek stomakhos ‘gullet’, from stoma ‘mouth’. The early sense of the verb was ‘be offended at, resent’ (early 16th cent.).
Thesaurus:
stomach noun C
• Lie on your stomach.
belly • • gut • • paunch • |informal tummy • • insides • |formal medical intestine • • abdomen •
in the/your stomach/belly/gut/tummy/insides/intestine/abdomen
on your stomach/belly/tummy
a/an fat/flat/empty/full stomach/belly/tummy
Collocations:
Physical appearance
A person may be described as having:
Eyes
(bright) blue/green/(dark/light) brown/hazel eyes
deep-set/sunken/bulging/protruding eyes
small/beady/sparkling/twinkling/(informal) shifty eyes
piercing/penetrating/steely eyes
bloodshot/watery/puffy eyes
bushy/thick/dark/raised/arched eyebrows
long/dark/thick/curly/false eyelashes/lashes
Face
a flat/bulbous/pointed/sharp/snub nose
a straight/a hooked/a Roman/(formal) an aquiline nose
full/thick/thin/pouty lips
dry/chapped/cracked lips
flushed/rosy/red/ruddy/pale cheeks
soft/chubby/sunken cheeks
white/perfect/crooked/protruding teeth
a large/high/broad/wide/sloping forehead
a strong/weak/pointed/double chin
a long/full/bushy/wispy/goatee beard
a long/thin/bushy/droopy/handlebar/pencil moustache/ (especially US) mustache
Hair and skin
pale/fair/olive/dark/tanned skin
dry/oily/smooth/rough/leathery/wrinkled skin
a dark/pale/light/sallow/ruddy/olive/swarthy/clear complexion
deep/fine/little/facial wrinkles
blonde/blond/fair/(light/dark) brown/(jet-)black/auburn/red/(BrE) ginger/grey hair
straight/curly/wavy/frizzy/spiky hair
thick/thin/fine/bushy/thinning hair
dyed/bleached/soft/silky/dry/greasy/shiny hair
long/short/shoulder-length/cropped hair
a bald/balding/shaved head
a receding hairline
a bald patch/spot
a side/centre/(US) center (BrE) parting/ (NAmE) part
Body
a long/short/thick/slender/(disapproving) scrawny neck
broad/narrow/sloping/rounded/hunched shoulders
a bare/broad/muscular/small/large chest
a flat/swollen/bulging stomach
a small/tiny/narrow/slim/slender/28-inch waist
big/wide/narrow/slim hips
a straight/bent/arched/broad/hairy back
thin/slender/muscular arms
big/large/small/manicured/calloused/gloved hands
long/short/fat/slender/delicate/bony fingers
long/muscular/hairy/shapely/(both informal, often disapproving) skinny/spindly legs
muscular/chubby/(informal, disapproving) flabby thighs
big/little/small/dainty/wide/narrow/bare feet
a good/a slim/a slender/an hourglass figure
be of slim/medium/average/large/athletic/stocky build
Example Bank:
• ‘I'm eating for two now!’ she said, patting her stomach.
• A feeling of nausea settled in her stomach.
• He had a hangover, so he ordered a sandwich to settle his stomach.
• He had a stomach upset.
• He had his stomach pumped after taking an overdose.
• He sucked in his stomach as he walked along the beach.
• He violently emptied the contents of his stomach.
• He was stabbed in the stomach during a street brawl.
• Human remains were found among the stomach contents of the shark.
• I felt a sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach when I saw the ambulance.
• I had butterflies in my stomach as I went to get my exam results.
• I lay on my stomach on the beach.
• I would get knots in my stomach because I was so scared.
• It makes me sick to my stomach to hear such stupid attitudes.
• My stomach lurched as another big wave hit the boat.
• She's been off work with an upset stomach.
• The drug can cause mild stomach upset.
• The pains in his stomach were becoming worse.
• The smell of the dead dog turned his stomach.
• You need a strong stomach to go on the giant roller coaster.
• You shouldn't drink wine on an empty stomach.
• enzymes in the stomach
• the sound of my rumbling stomach
• It's not a good idea to drink on an empty stomach.
• You shouldn't exercise on a full stomach.

Idioms: have no stomach for something ▪ turn your stomach

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition

stomach / ˈstʌm.ək / noun [ C ] ( plural stomachs )

A2 an organ in the body where food is digested, or the soft front part of your body just below the chest:

He was punched in the stomach.

The doctor asked him to lie down on his stomach.

The sight of blood always churns/turns my stomach (= makes me feel as if I am going to vomit) .

She's got a very delicate stomach and doesn't eat spicy food.

I was hungry and my stomach had started growling/rumbling (= making noises) .

He felt a knot of nervousness in the pit (= bottom) of his stomach.

I suggested that a cup of tea might settle (= calm) her stomach.

See picture body

Collins Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

stomach

/stʌmək/
(stomachs, stomaching, stomached)

Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.

1.
Your stomach is the organ inside your body where food is digested before it moves into the intestines.
He had an upset stomach...
My stomach is completely full.
N-COUNT

2.
You can refer to the front part of your body below your waist as your stomach.
The children lay down on their stomachs.
...stomach muscles.
N-COUNT: oft poss N

3.
If the front part of your body below your waist feels uncomfortable because you are feeling worried or frightened, you can refer to it as your stomach.
His stomach was in knots.
N-COUNT: oft poss N

4.
If you say that someone has a strong stomach, you mean that they are not disgusted by things that disgust most other people.
Surgery often demands actual physical strength, as well as the possession of a strong stomach.
N-COUNT

5.
If you cannot stomach something, you cannot accept it because you dislike it or disapprove of it.
I could never stomach the cruelty involved in the wounding of animals.
VERB: with brd-neg, V n/-ing

6.
If you do something on an empty stomach, you do it without having eaten.
Avoid drinking on an empty stomach.
PHRASE: PHR after v

7.
If you say that something turns your stomach or makes your stomach turn, you mean that it is so unpleasant or offensive that it makes you feel sick.
The true facts will turn your stomach...
I saw the shots of what happened on television and my stomach just turned over.
PHRASE: V inflects

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

¹stom·ach /ˈstʌmək/ noun, pl -achs
1 [count]
a : the organ in your body where food goes and begins to be digested after you swallow it
• She has problems with her stomach.
• I've had enough to eat. My stomach is full.
• His stomach was growling.
- often used before another noun
• a stomach ulcer
• stomach gas
- see picture at human
b : the part of your body that contains the stomach
• She punched him in the stomach. [=belly]
• He was lying on his stomach.
2 [noncount] : the desire, courage, etc., that is needed to do or accept something difficult or unpleasant - usually used in negative statements
• She didn't have the stomach to confront him.
• He has no stomach for controversy.
a strong/weak stomach
✦If you have a strong stomach, you are not bothered by things that many people find disgusting, shocking, or offensive.
• You need a strong stomach to watch that movie. If you have a weak stomach, you are easily bothered by disgusting, shocking, or offensive things.
• It's a very violent movie. Don't watch it if you have a weak stomach.
on a full stomach : after eating a lot of food
• Don't try to go swimming on a full stomach.
on an empty stomach : with nothing in your stomach
• Take this medication on an empty stomach. [=when your stomach is empty because you have not eaten for a time]
sick to your stomach
- see ¹sick
turn your stomach
✦Something that turns your stomach or makes your stomach turn makes you feel ill or uncomfortable usually because it is offensive or disgusting.
• The violence in his movies really turns my stomach.
your eyes are bigger than your stomach