belly-ache

A child holds his stomach because he has a belly-ache.

Definition

1. Noun:

   • Pain in the abdomen: "belly-ache" refers to a pain or discomfort in the stomach or abdominal area, often used informally.
   • A complaint or grumble: In informal or slang usage, "belly-ache" can also mean a persistent complaint or expression of dissatisfaction.

2. Verb:

   • To complain persistently: "belly-ache" as a verb means to complain or grumble in a nagging or whining manner, often about minor issues.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • After eating too much candy, the child had a bad belly-ache. (A physical pain in the stomach.)
  • Stop your constant belly-ache about the weather; it won't help. (A complaint or grumble about something.)

• Verb:

  • He always belly-aches about the food in the cafeteria. (He complains persistently about the food.)
  • She belly-ached for hours about the long wait at the doctor's office. (She grumbled continuously about the delay.)

Advanced Usage

• "to have a belly-ache": to experience abdominal pain.

  • The dog had a belly-ache after eating spoiled meat. (The dog suffered from stomach discomfort.)

• "to belly-ache over something": to complain excessively about a specific issue.

  • The workers belly-ached over the new schedule changes. (The workers complained loudly about the schedule.)

Variants and Related Words

• Belly-aching (n, adj): the act of complaining; characterized by complaining.

  • His constant belly-aching annoyed everyone in the room. (His persistent complaining was irritating.)
  • The belly-aching customer refused to be satisfied. (The complaining customer was hard to please.)

• Bellyache (n, v): a variant spelling without the hyphen, meaning the same.

  • She had a bellyache after the spicy meal. (She had abdominal pain.)

Synonyms

• Stomachache (n): pain in the stomach or abdomen.

  • He had a stomachache from eating too quickly. (Similar to belly-ache but more formal.)

• Gripe (v): to complain or grumble, often about minor things.

  • He griped about the cold coffee. (He complained about the coffee.)

• Whine (v): to complain in a childish or annoying way.

  • The child whined about going to bed. (Similar to belly-ache as a verb.)

Phrasal Verbs

• Belly-ache about: to complain persistently about something.
  • She belly-aches about her job every day. (She complains about her job regularly.)

Related Idioms

• No belly-ache, no gain: a humorous twist on "no pain, no gain," implying that complaining is part of achieving something.

  • He worked hard on the project, but there was no belly-ache, no gain. (He complained but also succeeded.)

• Belly-ache over spilled milk: to complain about something that has already happened and cannot be changed.

  • Stop belly-aching over spilled milk; let's fix the problem. (Stop complaining about the past.)