underbelly
noun
un·der·bel·ly
ˈən-dər-ˌbe-lē 
1
: a vulnerable area
also
: a corrupt or sordid part
probing the underbelly of the entertainment industry
2
: the underside of a body or mass
Examples of underbelly in a Sentence
They exposed the underbelly of the nation's economic policy.
the sordid underbelly of city life
Recent Examples on the Web
The primary retracting wheels flank the brush roll, with an omnidirectional caster wheel at the front of the underbelly.
—
PCMAG, 28 Feb. 2025
Love planet Venus starts retrograding in your enigmatic eighth house on March 1, prompting a review of the hidden underbelly of all your closest bonds.
—Nina Kahn, StyleCaster, 24 Feb. 2025
Not all barn owls have white underbellies, however; some have reddish-brown plumage instead.
—Katie Hunt, CNN, 17 Dec. 2024
Roger Ebert famously panned it, though other critics hailed it as a brave and unsparing look at the underbelly of small-town ordinariness.
—Daniel Arkin, NBC News, 16 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for underbelly
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PCMAG, 28 Feb. 2025
Love planet Venus starts retrograding in your enigmatic eighth house on March 1, prompting a review of the hidden underbelly of all your closest bonds.
—Nina Kahn, StyleCaster, 24 Feb. 2025
Not all barn owls have white underbellies, however; some have reddish-brown plumage instead.
—Katie Hunt, CNN, 17 Dec. 2024
Roger Ebert famously panned it, though other critics hailed it as a brave and unsparing look at the underbelly of small-town ordinariness.
—Daniel Arkin, NBC News, 16 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for underbelly
Cite this Entry
“Underbelly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/underbelly. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
underbelly
noun
un·der·bel·ly
ˈən-dər-ˌbel-ē
: the underpart of a body or mass
the underbelly of a bomber
also
: an area open to attack or damage
the army's underbelly
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