cast-iron stomach

noun

An exceptionally strong and resilient digestive system capable of consuming almost almost any type of food or drink without becoming ill or experiencing indigestion.

Meanings

nouncast-iron stomach (plural cast-iron stomachs)

plural cast-iron stomachs

  1. figurativelygastroenterologyAn exceptionally strong and resilient digestive system capable of consuming almost almost any type of food or drink without becoming ill or experiencing indigestion.

    Carroll, with his normally cast-iron stomach, began to complain of stomach pains.

    2009, Norman Barasch, The Joy of Laughter: My Life as a Comedy Writer, page 104
    4 more examples

    His Herculean frame was surmounted by a strong head, and contained a sort of cast-iron stomach, on which liquid fire could make no impression.

    1844, James Ballantine, The Miller of Deanhaugh, page 14

    An animal man, with a cast-iron stomach, or, perhaps quite as often a dyspeptic, with a suffering stomach and ruined health, will say, “don’t keep thinking about your food; it will give you the dyspepsia.

    1863, Dio Lewis, Weak Lungs and how to Make Them Strong, page 75

    I love to travel and to shop, and I've got a cast-iron stomach, so I gain about ten pounds every trip.

    1989 January, Texas Monthly, volume 17, number 1, page 125

    He must have a cast iron stomach too. He volunteered to finish off any spare sandwiches or apple cores or even orange peel, if there were any, going begging.

    2011, Helen Evans, Reluctant Heroes, page 19

Origin

First use appears c. 1844. See cite below.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

cast-iron stomach. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cast-iron%20stomach

MLA

“cast-iron stomach.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cast-iron%20stomach. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cast-iron stomach,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cast-iron%20stomach.

Source: cast-iron stomach on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.