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belly button

belly button

24 1.0
A small round mark on the stomach where the baby was attached before birth
  • noun
  • /ˈbɛli ˈbʌtən/
translation icon : ombligo
  • During the anatomy class, the teacher pointed out the belly button as an example of where the umbilical cord was attached.
  • belly button piercing
  • belly button ring
  • belly button lint

OK, this is the belly and this is the belly button.

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Examples

Synonyms

navel
vsbelly button
20 1.0

The small scar in the middle of the belly where you were joined to your mother before birth

is the more informal two-word everyday phrase
bellybutton
vsbelly button
11 1.0

A small round mark in the middle of your stomach where the cord from your mother was attached

is the two-word common spelling used in everyday speech
umbilicus
vsbelly button
  • Specialized
3 9.3

A small round scar on the belly where the baby's cord attaches before birth

is the everyday nontechnical term for that scar
omphalos
vsbelly button
1 9.9

The small scar on the belly where the umbilical cord was attached

is the common everyday phrase rather than the learned term
omphalus
vsbelly button
  • Archaic
9.9

A small round mark in the middle of the belly where the umbilical cord was attached

is the regular modern everyday expression not the archaic variant
umbilic
vsbelly button
  • Specialized
9.1

The belly button at the front of the body or a central point on a surface

is limited to the physical abdominal scar rather than abstract points

Surface Forms

belly button singular
belly buttons plural

Morphology

belly + button

The meaning 'navel' is directly and transparently derivable from 'belly' (abdomen) + 'button' (a small, rounded object): it denotes a button-like mark on the belly. This noun–noun compound follows a common compositional pattern and the metaphorical extension of 'button' to small round protuberances is easily inferable, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will understand it.

Etymology

Belly button comes from the small, round scar on the belly that looks like a button on clothing. It also shows where a baby was attached before birth, so the phrase means the 'navel'.