stomach upset
- noun
- /ˈstʌmək ˈʌpˌsɛt/
- After eating the spicy food, he experienced a stomach upset that made him feel nauseous.
- a mild stomach upset
- causes stomach upset
- stomach upset and nausea
Examples
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I suffer pain and discomfort due to occasional stomach upset.
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Later in April, they all went through a week of diarrhea and stomach upsets.
Fiction book (1992) -
But Tiny was crying now, his nap over, his stomach upset.
Fiction book (1990) -
Avoid anything that doesn't seem clean and anything that you know makes your stomach upset.
Blog text (12) -
Children who travel alone often get ill; there's nothing unusual about a little stomach upset.
Fiction book (2000) -
And cow's dairy makes my stomach upset, so I can't really have much of it.
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We visited some more with Dad, talking mostly about the baseball season, but after five minutes, Jack announced that Annie was suffering from a slight stomach upset.
Fiction book (1994) -
Suddenly, all the symptoms of bloat, stomach upset, cramping, and more reared their ugly heads again.
Blog text (24) -
Don't force it down—if it's making your stomach upset, it's too strong.
Blog text (10) -
The queasiness, bloating, and stomach upset you feel likely stem from the aggravation resulting from a difficult morning conference call or the anticipation of an afternoon of back-to-back meetings.
Academic text (2006)
Synonyms
Stomach pain after eating, often with heartburn or feeling sick
A feeling of hurt in the stomach area between the chest and hips
A pain in the stomach or belly that makes you uncomfortable
A mild pain or feeling of sickness in the stomach
A pain in the stomach or tummy
An uncomfortable pain in the upper stomach often with feeling sick or heartburn
A health problem in the stomach or intestines that causes pain
A pain or uncomfortable feeling in the stomach area
A pain in the stomach area
How Severe
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from 'stomach' (the digestive organ) + 'upset' (feeling queasy or unwell): together they denote a queasy or uncomfortable stomach. This is a common, cross-linguistically transparent noun + adjective combination and a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Stomach upset comes from the simple image of the stomach being upset, as if the inside is turned over or disturbed and nothing feels right. That's why the phrase means 'a mild digestive problem' that causes pain, nausea, or heartburn.