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tummy rumble

tummy rumble

1 4.4
A low sound your stomach makes when you are hungry
  • noun
  • /ˈtʌmi ˈrʌmbl/
  • Informal
translation icon : rugido de estómago
  • As the movie played on, I could hear a soft tummy rumble from the hungry child next to me.

Examples

  • Well, let's not just sit here with our tummies rumbling.

  • So about two hours goes by, I'm sitting at my desk and I felt my tummy rumble in that familiar way.

  • I heard a tummy rumble during the quiet meeting, which made everyone laugh.

  • After skipping breakfast, I felt my stomach growl with a loud tummy rumble.

Synonyms

growling
vstummy rumble
138 3.4

A low angry sound animals make to warn people

is a nonthreatening stomach noise signaling hunger rather than anger
growl
vstummy rumble
76 1.6

A low, deep sound an animal makes to warn or show anger

is a low stomach noise caused by hunger not by anger
rumble
vstummy rumble
29 3.1

A low, continuous sound you can feel

is a similar low continuous sound but noticeably softer and quieter
gurgle
vstummy rumble
10 3.5

A bubbling sound like water moving in a bottle

is a low guttural stomach noise rather than a bubbly liquid sound
grumble
vstummy rumble
2 2.7

A long low dull sound like distant thunder

is the same low dull sound but comes from the stomach not distant sources

Antonyms

660 2.0

A period with no sound or speech

How Loud

tummy rumble
  • Informal
1 4.4
gurgle
10 3.5

Surface Forms

tummy rumble singular
tummy rumbles plural

Morphology

tummy + rumble

The meaning 'a low, growling noise made by the stomach' is directly and transparently derivable from combining 'tummy' (belly) with 'rumble' (a low, resonant sound); the phrase straightforwardly labels the sound produced by the tummy. This compositional pattern is common cross-linguistically (e.g. 'stomach growl'), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Tummy rumble comes from the real sound your tummy makes: a low rumble when it is empty. So it means 'a stomach noise that often shows hunger'.