bellyached; bellyaching; bellyaches
: to complain whiningly or peevishly : find fault
bellyacher
noun
Examples of bellyache in a Sentence
Noun
He ate too much chili and it gave him a bellyache.
Verb
He was bellyaching about how long it took to get a table at the restaurant.
tired of the kids bellyaching every time they're asked to mow the lawn or take out the trash
Recent Examples on the Web
Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 8 Mar. 2024
No place to stay Reaching San Antonio, Dieuvena, Banel and Matéo Sebastien slept at the airport, waiting for a flight to Boston, during which time the 4-year-old boy began complaining of a bellyache.
—Liam Reilly, CNN, 30 Apr. 2023
Counterpoint When Chrysler swallowed AMC, we flinty-eyed industry observers wondered if Lee Iacocca would end up with a bellyache.
—Larry Griffin, Car and Driver, 11 Apr. 2023
Just a sweet glide across the land, no bellyache from a jostle.
—Arkansas Online, 30 June 2021
Some adverse reactions to look out for can be diarrhea and bellyaches.
If your canine (and their stomach) loves the new snack, then great.
—Jackie Frere, Woman's Day, 2 Apr. 2019
But rather than bellyache, why not follow the lead of McDonald’s and de-invent them?
—Joe Queenan, WSJ, 9 Nov. 2018
With the stadium being mostly privately financed the naysayers are going to have something else to whine and bellyache about.
—John Canzano, OregonLive.com, 17 Apr. 2018
The intersection between sports and pop culture in America has existed at least since Babe Ruth’s famous bellyache in 1925.
—Ken Belson, New York Times, 15 July 2016
Dan Rodricks, Baltimore Sun, 8 Mar. 2024
Whereas Michael Myers paced calmly in a silly jumpsuit, Lewis bellyached in moody black outfits.
—Jason Zinoman, New York Times, 29 Feb. 2024
DeSantis hasn’t ceased bellyaching about being outmaneuvered by Disney’s lawyers.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 26 Apr. 2023
At the heart of the espalier is the stake about which Grenadiers are known to bellyache.
—Paul Muldoon, The New York Review of Books, 24 Sep. 2020
All of us have cheated this way before and hopefully didn’t bellyache too loudly when we were called out for it.
—Don Yaeger, Forbes, 16 June 2021
But grousing over presidential vacations is a bit of a political charade; Democrats bellyache about Republican presidents taking time off and vice versa, but even a commander in chief needs some downtime.
—Stephen Collinson, CNN, 3 June 2021
The city rebranded a different street as Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, though not without bellyaching among the citizenry.
—Sarah Vowell, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2020
But on a losing team that couldn’t get him the football, Sanders made faces and bellyached.
—Mark Kiszla, The Denver Post, 23 Oct. 2019
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.
Noun
The silence at least gave the crowd space to bellyache and boo.
—Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 8 Mar. 2024
No place to stay Reaching San Antonio, Dieuvena, Banel and Matéo Sebastien slept at the airport, waiting for a flight to Boston, during which time the 4-year-old boy began complaining of a bellyache.
—Liam Reilly, CNN, 30 Apr. 2023
Counterpoint When Chrysler swallowed AMC, we flinty-eyed industry observers wondered if Lee Iacocca would end up with a bellyache.
—Larry Griffin, Car and Driver, 11 Apr. 2023
Just a sweet glide across the land, no bellyache from a jostle.
—Arkansas Online, 30 June 2021
Some adverse reactions to look out for can be diarrhea and bellyaches.
If your canine (and their stomach) loves the new snack, then great.
—Jackie Frere, Woman's Day, 2 Apr. 2019
But rather than bellyache, why not follow the lead of McDonald’s and de-invent them?
—Joe Queenan, WSJ, 9 Nov. 2018
With the stadium being mostly privately financed the naysayers are going to have something else to whine and bellyache about.
—John Canzano, OregonLive.com, 17 Apr. 2018
The intersection between sports and pop culture in America has existed at least since Babe Ruth’s famous bellyache in 1925.
—Ken Belson, New York Times, 15 July 2016
Verb
And the second major benefit to weekly recycling: People finally stop bellyaching about biweekly recycling.
—Dan Rodricks, Baltimore Sun, 8 Mar. 2024
Whereas Michael Myers paced calmly in a silly jumpsuit, Lewis bellyached in moody black outfits.
—Jason Zinoman, New York Times, 29 Feb. 2024
DeSantis hasn’t ceased bellyaching about being outmaneuvered by Disney’s lawyers.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 26 Apr. 2023
At the heart of the espalier is the stake about which Grenadiers are known to bellyache.
—Paul Muldoon, The New York Review of Books, 24 Sep. 2020
All of us have cheated this way before and hopefully didn’t bellyache too loudly when we were called out for it.
—Don Yaeger, Forbes, 16 June 2021
But grousing over presidential vacations is a bit of a political charade; Democrats bellyache about Republican presidents taking time off and vice versa, but even a commander in chief needs some downtime.
—Stephen Collinson, CNN, 3 June 2021
The city rebranded a different street as Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, though not without bellyaching among the citizenry.
—Sarah Vowell, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2020
But on a losing team that couldn’t get him the football, Sanders made faces and bellyached.
—Mark Kiszla, The Denver Post, 23 Oct. 2019
Cite this Entry
“Bellyache.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bellyache. Accessed 1 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
bellyache
1 of 2 noun
bel·ly·ache
ˈbel-ē-ˌāk 
: pain in the abdomen and especially in the stomach : stomachache
bellyache
2 of 2 verb
: to complain in a whining or irritable way
kept bellyaching about the wait
bellyacher
noun
Medical Definition
bellyache
noun
bel·ly·ache
ˈbel-ē-ˌāk
: pain in the abdomen and especially in the stomach : stomachache
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share