belly

/ˈbɛli/

//ˈbɛli// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"belly" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“belly” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #6,026. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#6,026
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The abdomen (especially a fat one).

Corpus desk

Index EN-belly · belly · English

belly · rank #6,026 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,026
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH backs

Nearest frequency peer: backs (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “belly”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “belly” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

belly vs bey
60% similar
belly vs bly
60% similar
belly vs bill
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for belly
PropertyValue
Headwordbelly
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈbɛli/
Letters5
Frequency rank#6,026
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “belly”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).bellylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “backs” (#6,025), “booth” (#6,027), “assisted” (#6,024). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “belly” is #6,026. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around belly (IPA /ˈbɛli/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #6,026 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for belly, with forms such as "bbelly", "bellyy", and "bely". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "bey", "bly", "bill", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *balgiz Proto-West Germanic *balgi Old English bielġ Middle English bely English belly Inherited from Middle English bely, beli, bali, below, belew, balyw, from Old English bielġ (“bag, pouch, b… The correct English form is belly, spelled B-E-L-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The abdomen (especially a fat one).
  2. 2
    stomach (an organ in animals that stores food in the process of digestion)
  3. 3
    uterus (a reproductive organ of therian mammals in which the young are conceived and develop until birth)
  4. 4
    The lower fuselage of an airplane.
  5. 5
    The part of anything which resembles (either closely or abstractly) the human belly in protuberance or in concavity; often, the fundus (innermost part).
  6. 6
    The part of anything which resembles (either closely or abstractly) the human belly in protuberance or in concavity; often, the fundus (innermost part).
  7. 7
    The part of anything which resembles (either closely or abstractly) the human belly in protuberance or in concavity; often, the fundus (innermost part).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how belly appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. You've grown a belly over Christmas! Time to join the gym again.
  2. My belly was full of wine.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *balgiz Proto-West Germanic *balgi Old English bielġ Middle English bely English belly Inherited from Middle English bely, beli, bali, below, belew, balyw, from Old English bielġ (“bag, pouch, bulge”), from Proto-West Germanic *balgi, *balgu, from Proto-Germanic *balgiz, *balguz (“skin, hide, bellows, bag”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵʰ- (“to swell, blow up”). Cognate with Dutch balg, German Balg, Danish bælg, Old Irish bolg, Welsh bol. Doublet of bellows, blague, bulge, and budge. See also bellows. For the belly — bellows connection compare typologically Macedonian мев (mev, “abdomen, belly; bellows”). Also compare Ancient Greek φῦσα (phûsa, “bellows; bladder; ...”), Latin venter — vēsīca, Russian пу́зо (púzo) — пузы́рь (puzýrʹ), пузырёк (puzyrjók).

Synonyms

abdomenbellymidriffstomachtumtummytum-tumventrum

This word in other languages

barriga(Español)ventre(Français)Bauch(Deutsch)barriga(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bbelly
  • bellyy
  • bely
  • belyl
  • blely
  • eblly

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of belly - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

bbelly1bellyy1bely1belyl2blely2eblly2
Edit distance from "belly"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "belly"?
"belly" is spelled B-E-L-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbɛli/.
What does "belly" mean?
As a noun, "belly" means: The abdomen (especially a fat one).
What words are commonly confused with "belly"?
"belly" is commonly confused with "bey", "bly", "bill". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "belly"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "belly" is /ˈbɛli/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "belly"?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *balgiz Proto-West Germanic *balgi Old English bielġ Middle English bely English belly Inherited from Middle English bely, beli, bali, below, belew, balyw, from Old English bielġ (“bag... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "belly", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

backs#6,025booth#6,027array#6,023witch#6,019

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

cliff6 variantssilk6 variantsDennis6 variantspairs6 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list