midriff

M3I1D2R1I1F4F4
/ˈmɪdɹɪf/

noun

The middle section of the human torso, from below the chest to above the waist; the abdomen and its back part.

“Near-synonym: midsection”

UncommonScrabble 16

Meanings

nounmidriff (plural midriffs)

plural midriffs

  1. anatomyThe middle section of the human torso, from below the chest to above the waist; the abdomen and its back part.

    Near-synonym: midsection

    2 more examples

    I stuck it out for about an hour and then, apprised by a hollow feeling in the midriff that the dinner hour was approaching, laid a course for home.

    1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter XXI, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC

    But by Season 3, she said her patience had fizzled like bad Champagne after Emily grossly mispronounced “bien sûr” (“of course!”), flashed her midriff at the office and mistook George Sand, the French romantic writer, as a man.

    2023 January 20, Dan Bilefsky, “American Expatriates in Paris Wish Emily Cooper Would Go Home”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

    Synonyms: midsection

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe middle section of the human torso, from below the chest to above the waist; the abdomen and its back part.

Similar

More synonyms by meaning

nounthe middle area of the human torso (usually in front)

Broader

noun(anatomy) a muscular partition separating the abdominal and thoracic cavities; functions in respiration

Similar
Broader
muscular structuremusculaturemuscle systemmembranetissue layer

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-West Germanic*middjahrif
  2. Old Englishmidrif
  3. Middle Englishmidref
  4. Englishmidriff

From Middle English midref, mydrif, from Old English midrif, midhrif (“the midriff; diaphragm”), from Proto-West Germanic *middjahrif. Equivalent to mid- + riff.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian талия
  • талия (talija)mid section of the human torso
Chinese Mandarin 腹部, 肚子
  • 腹部 (fùbù)mid section of the human torso
  • 肚子 (dùzi)mid section of the human torso
Czech břicho, bříško
  • břichomid section of the human torso
  • bříškomid section of the human torso
Dutch middenrif
  • middenrifmid section of the human torso
Finnish keskivartalo
  • keskivartalomid section of the human torso
French ventre
  • ventremid section of the human torso
German Bauch, Taille
  • Bauchmid section of the human torso
  • Taillemid section of the human torso
Italian vita
  • vitamid section of the human torso
Latin praecordia
  • praecordiamid section of the human torso
Persian میانتنه
  • میانتنه (miyāntane)mid section of the human torso
Polish brzuch
  • brzuchmid section of the human torso
Portuguese ventre
  • ventremid section of the human torso
Spanish abdomen, vientre
  • abdomenmid section of the human torso
  • vientremid section of the human torso
  • cinturamid section of the human torso
Cite this entry
APA

midriff. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/midriff

MLA

“midriff.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/midriff. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “midriff,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/midriff.

Source: midriff on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.