Plural of Belly

What Is the Plural of Belly?

The plural of "belly" is "bellies."

• "Jimmy 10 Bellies," from Tyne and Wear in England, lost 10 inches off his waist. Looking trim with his new 34-inch waist, he said: "When I started my diet, it was the first time I'd had fish without batter."
• Is is true that cows have four bellies? No, a cow has four stomachs that are used to break down the coarse food they eat.

The noun "belly" adheres to the standard rules for forming the plurals of nouns in English (shown in the table below).

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The Standard Rules for Forming the Plurals

The table below shows the standard rules for forming the plurals of nouns in English.

Type	Example of Type	Forming the Plural	Plural
Most Nouns	lamp scythe	add s	lamps scythes
Noun Ending s, sh, ch, x or z	bus dress	add es	buses dresses
Nouns ending [consonant] o	hero zero tomato	add either s or es (There are no rules for this - you have to know.)	heroes zeros tomatoes
Nouns ending [vowel] o	patio ratio	add s	patios ratios
Nouns ending [consonant] y	story belly	change the y to an i and add es	stories bellies
Nouns ending [vowel] y	valley chimney	add s	valleys chimneys
Nouns ending f or fe	dwarf hoof	ves and/or s (There are no rules - you have to know.)	dwarfs hooves or hoofs
Exceptions	man louse	some nouns undergo a vowel or letters change	men lice
More exceptions	salmon sheep	some nouns do not change at all	salmon sheep

Read more about English spelling rules.

Why Is There Confusion over the Plural of Belly?

"Bellies" is the only way to make the noun "belly" plural.

Confusion arises because a noun that ends [vowel] + "y" (e.g., "valley") forms its plural by adding just "s" (e.g., "valleys").

Also some people question whether "bellies" is the same word as "belies," which means "is not in keeping with."

Not Belly's

You cannot use "belly's" as the plural.

Read more about apostrophe abuse.

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