The navel (clinically known as the umbilicus, colloquially known as the belly button) is a protruding, flat, or hollowed area on the abdomen at the attachment site of the umbilical cord.
(meta data) TITLE: Navel | Definition of Navel by Merriam-Webster SINCE 1828 JOIN MWU Gain access to thousands of additional definitions and advanced search features—ad free! JOIN NOW BROWSE THESAURUS WORD OF THE DAY WORDS AT PLAY TIME TRAVELER # navel | \ ˈnā-vəl ## Definition of navel : a depression in the middle of the abdomen that marks the point of former attachment of the umbilical cord or yolk stalk : the central point : middle In Delphi's golden age, when the ancients held it to be the navel of the world— Henry Kamm More Example Sentences Learn More about navel Keep scrolling for more ## Synonyms for navel axis, base, capital, center, central, core, cynosure, epicenter, eye, focus, ground zero, heart, hub, locus, mecca, nerve center, nexus, nucleus, omphalos, seat Visit the Thesaurus for More ## Examples of navel in a Sentence a city that likes to regard itself as the nation's navel of art and culture Recent Examples on the Web Too often, maybe as a result of our own navel-gazing, we position events in an athlete's career—a win, a loss, a setback or, yes, an injury—as life-changing. Albert Breer, SI.com, "Andrew Luck on What His Long Injury Layoff Taught Him—About Football and Life," 1 Aug. 2019 Pull the navel in towards your spine and relax the shoulders down away from the ears. Stephanie Mansour, NBC News, "5 ways to avoid back pain during yoga class," 22 July 2019 Purchased at a Habitat for Humanity ReStore, the pencil drawing depicts a nude girl reclining on her back, the contours of her ribs protruding unsettlingly above her navel. Brigit Katz, Smithsonian, "Drawing Found in Thrift Store Turns Out to Be an Original Egon Schiele," 26 July 2019 His high-collared shirt was unbuttoned nearly to his navel, with a scarf loosely knotted around his neck. Richard Zoglin, Time, "Inside the Las Vegas Show That Turned Elvis' Career Around," 23 July 2019 Soon enough the Walkman was a symbol of navel-gazing self-absorption. Clive Thompson, Smithsonian, "The Walkman's Invention 40 Years Ago Launched a Cultural Revolution," 9 July 2019 Related Articles There is a hyper-meta quality to this documentary that will probably appeal to fans of navel-gazing conceptual art — or just devilishly pointed black humor. Michael O'sullivan, Twin Cities, "A conceptual artist pops a brilliant (but ghoulish) question in 'The Proposal'," 20 June 2019 In a time of relentless kvetching and navel gazing comes the photography of astronaut Scott Kelly, taken during his year on the International Space Station. Ben Crandell, sun-sentinel.com, "Weekend preview: More sun, more yoga, Tom Petty, Patrick and the Swayzees," 19 June 2019 The Platonic ideal of underwear changed from the barely there thong to an oversized brief with a navel-hugging elastic waistband and a silhouette designed to hold in paunch. Shira Feder, Vox, "The rise of granny panties," 5 June 2019 These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'navel.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback. See More ## First Known Use of navel before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1 ## History and Etymology for navel Middle English, from Old English nafela; akin to Old High German nabalo navel, Latin umbilicus, Greek omphalos Keep scrolling for more ## Learn More about navel ## Dictionary Entries near navel nave arcade navel-gazing navel orange navel orangeworm ## Statistics for navel Last Updated 17 Aug 2019 Look-up Popularity Time Traveler for navel ## The first known use of navel was before the 12th century See more words from the same century Keep scrolling for more More Definitions for navel ## English Language Learners Definition of navel : the small, hollow or raised area in the middle of your stomach See the full definition for navel in the English Language Learners Dictionary | \ ˈnā-vəl ## Kids Definition of navel : a hollow or bump in the middle of the stomach that marks the place where the umbilical cord was attached | \ ˈnā-vəl ## Medical Definition of navel : a depression in the middle of the abdomen that marks the point of former attachment of the umbilical cord to the embryo — called also Keep scrolling for more More from Merriam-Webster on navel Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for navel Spanish Central: Translation of navel Nglish: Translation of navel for Spanish Speakers Britannica English: Translation of navel for Arabic Speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about navel Comments on navel What made you want to look up navel? 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