belly pan

noun

: a sheet of metal that covers and protects all or a portion of the underside of an automobile

Replacing the oil filter requires removal of the belly pan on the right side, which is held by three bolts.

—Mort Schultz, Popular Mechanics, September 1973

… fashioned a smooth belly pan to cover virtually the entire underside of the car …

—Steven Cole Smith, Car and Driver, December 1998

The belly pan scrapes against the ground a few times as the fully independent suspension absorbs the terrain.

—Dan McCosh, Popular Science, November 2001

Word History

First Known Use

1941, in the meaning defined above

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