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View synonyms for underbelly

underbelly

[ uhn-der-bel-ee ]

noun

, plural un·der·bel·lies.
  1. the lower abdomen; posterior ventral area, as of an animal's body.
  2. the lower surface of an object; underside:

    the underbelly of an airplane.

  3. a vulnerable area; weak point:

    an attack on the soft underbelly of Europe.

  4. a dark, seamy, often hidden area or side:

    a police officer continually exposed to the underbelly of society.



underbelly

/ ˈʌndəˌbɛlɪ /

noun

  1. the part of an animal's belly nearest to the ground
  2. a vulnerable or unprotected part, aspect, or region


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Word History and Origins

Origin of underbelly1

First recorded in 1600–10; under- + belly

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Example Sentences

This year, with slightly more worldliness and way fewer drinks consumed, I could see the emotionally fraught underbelly.

She shook me and we both saw its silver underbelly pass by the window of my fifth-floor walk-up in Greenwich Village.

In fact this is a fairly new subculture, albeit one with a dark underbelly of wax-smoking.

The press was at the height of its power when the Monica story began and Drudge was its underbelly.

But there is an ugly underbelly to this otherwise charming story and it is not exactly a new wrinkle either.

The scout ship responded like a nervous horse and fluttered away as the rocket burned and arced beneath the underbelly.

Repeatedly the two boys dived to jab and slash at the shark's soft underbelly.

Goode was peering at the ivory inlay on the underbelly of the stock.

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