Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To expel gas noisily from the stomach through the mouth; burp.
  • intransitive verb To erupt or explode.
  • intransitive verb To gush forth.
  • intransitive verb To expel (gas) noisily from the stomach through the mouth; burp.
  • intransitive verb To eject violently.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To eject wind noisily from the stomach through the mouth; eructate.
  • To issue out, as with eructation: as, “belching flames,”
  • To throw or eject from the stomach with violence; eructate.
  • To eject violently from within; cast forth.
  • To ejaculate; vent with vehemence: often with out: as, to belch out blasphemies; to belch out one's fury.
  • noun The act of throwing out from the stomach or from within; eructation.
  • noun A cant name for malt liquor, from its causing belching.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb To eject wind from the stomach through the mouth; to eructate.
  • intransitive verb To issue with spasmodic force or noise.
  • transitive verb To eject or throw up from the stomach with violence; to eruct.
  • transitive verb To eject violently from within; to cast forth; to emit; to give vent to; to vent.
  • noun The act of belching; also, that which is belched; an eructation.
  • noun obsolete Malt liquor; -- vulgarly so called as causing eructation.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb To expel gas loudly or rudely from the stomach through the mouth.
  • noun The sound one makes when belching.
  • noun obsolete malt liquor

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb expel gas from the stomach
  • noun a reflex that expels gas noisily from the stomach through the mouth
  • verb become active and spew forth lava and rocks

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English belchen, from Old English bealcettan or from *bealcian; akin to bealcan.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English belchen, from Old English bealcan, bialcan; related to Dutch balken ("to bray"), Middle Low German belken ("to shout").

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Examples

  • The occasional well-rendered belch is practically expected.

    Sex or charity, boys. Pick one. « Dating Jesus 2009

  • Because belch is the only word that does this justice, truly.

    Archive 2008-04-01 kittenpie 2008

  • Because belch is the only word that does this justice, truly.

    Lament of the Big-Bellied kittenpie 2008

  • Then came the latest sustained ashen belch from the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokul, re-routing, delaying or cancelling hundreds of trans-Atlantic flights over the weekend and into the week of the festival's opening.

    chicagotribune.com - 2010

  • And p.s. I’ve spent way too much time trying to decide if Newton’s belch is real or ADR.

    'Mode After Hours': Marc and Amanda from 'Ugly Betty' explore Internet dating | EW.com 2009

  • Edmonton Journal ran an article headlined "Volcano exposes mankind's limits," arguing that Eyjafjallajökull's "belch" has exposed the "striking incapacity of human beings, however smugly sophisticated, to either predict such phenomena or do much about them."

    Reason Magazine Brendan O'Neill 2010

  • Edmonton Journal ran an article headlined "Volcano exposes mankind's limits," arguing that Eyjafjallajökull's "belch" has exposed the "striking incapacity of human beings, however smugly sophisticated, to either predict such phenomena or do much about them."

    Reason Magazine Brendan O'Neill 2010

  • He describes it as a burning sensation at the back of his throat and only subsides when he manages to 'belch'.

    xml's Blinklist.com 2008

  • He took a long swig of soda, let out a belch, and looked down at the box next to him.

    Should Have Gotten Delivery Instead Erin Zulkoski 2011

  • I download another Bud Lite from the beer bong and belch in her hippie face.

    Get Laid or Die Trying Jeff Allen 2011

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