noun
bellyache
BEH-lee-ayk
noun
1
A pain in the stomach.
"Too much candy gave her a bellyache."
verb
1
To complain persistently about minor things.
"He’s always bellyaching about the traffic on his commute."
How to Use Bellyache
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishEither a stomach pain, or informally, to whine and complain a lot.
When to use it
The verb sense is informal — fine in casual speech, not in a formal report.
Common pairings
stop bellyaching
a bad bellyache
Word Forms
bellyached past tense, bellyaches plural, bellyaches singular
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Etymology
A straightforward compound of "belly" and "ache."