1
as in protruding
to extend outward beyond a usual point
the sails slowly bellied as the wind picked up
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in creeping
to move slowly with the body close to the ground
recruits were forced to belly over the obstacle course under simulated enemy fire
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bellying
Verb
-
Sharks are often imagined cruising just beneath the waves, dorsal fin protruding from the dark, ocean waters to alert people of their incoming doom.—
Melissa Cristina Márquez,
Forbes.com,
1 Sep. 2025 -
Eventually, the villager spotted something unexpected—the nearly complete cranium of an unknown, ancient hominin protruding from a small chamber’s interior wall.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
20 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
The feelings of postpartum depression — despair, guilt, shame and worthlessness — began creeping in.—
Alyssa Goldberg,
USA Today,
3 Sep. 2025
-
With trigger-warning culture on the wane and a brutish permissiveness creeping back into society, corporate scolds have lost much of their power.—
Liz Hoffman,
semafor.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Gavras, working from a script he co-wrote with Pulitzer-finalist playwright Will Arbery, seems to be poking fun at the vacuous postures of the oligarch class, just as Ruben Östlund and many other filmmakers have in recent years.—
Richard Lawson,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Sep. 2025
-
New Bayern Munich signing Luis Díaz strolled down the left flank before cutting inside and poking a cross along the six-yard line.—
Joseph O'Sullivan,
Forbes.com,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
In recent weeks grosses for the show have slipped considerably, with the weekly take at the end of August sliding to an unsustainable $505,142.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
7 Sep. 2025
-
Last year at Monza, Red Bull struggled with balance, with the car sliding at times.—
Kanzah Maktoum,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The man displayed his find—a bulging-eyed doll with prominent teeth, enormous ears and a fuzzy body.—
Thomas Westerholm,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Sep. 2025
-
But now, as the result of hours spent training in the gym, Draper boasts an imposing frame with biceps visibly bulging from underneath his t-shirt.—
Ben Church,
CNN Money,
27 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
In the early 1990s, after being dropped from RCA Records at age 39, Crow bought 10 acres of rolling pastures above the snaking West Harpeth River in Franklin, Tennessee, for $175,000, according to the Wall Street Journal.—
Abby Montanez,
Robb Report,
15 Aug. 2025
-
Brea and La Habra move into a snaking district in Los Angeles County centered on Downey.—
Kaitlyn Schallhorn,
Oc Register,
15 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
The centipede the Redditor found crawling in her bed.—
Lydia Patrick,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Aug. 2025
-
My death was supposed to be crawling up inside of the locker that the cat used to go in.—
Matthew Jacobs,
Vulture,
26 Aug. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Bellying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bellying. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share