WordGarden.ionavel
C2Pronunciation
UK
- /nˈeɪvəl/
US
- /ˈneɪvəl/
Meanings
Noun
the small hollow or scar in the middle of the belly; the belly button
a navel orange
the central point or middle of something
Beyond the definition
Your navel, more commonly called your belly button, is the small mark in the middle of your stomach where the umbilical cord was attached before you were born. It is really a small scar, a quiet sign of how you were once connected to your mother.
The word can also be used in a figurative way. In writing, a place may be called the navel of a region, city, or culture to mean its center or main point. You may also see it in the phrase "navel-gazing," which means thinking too much about yourself or your own feelings.
The navel, usually called the belly button, is the small hollow or bump in the center of the abdomen. It is the place where the umbilical cord was attached before birth. After the cord is cut, a small scar remains. That scar stays for life, which is why the navel can feel like a simple but powerful sign of where life began.
In everyday English, this is the main meaning of the word. People may talk about cleaning the navel, piercing it, or joking about whether someone has an "innie" or an "outie." In medical or descriptive writing, the word sounds a little more formal than "belly button."
The word also has a figurative use. A writer might call a place the navel of a country, a movement, or a tradition to mean its center, source, or most important point. This use is less common than the body-related one, but it still appears in literary or thoughtful writing.
You will also meet the word in the phrase "navel-gazing," which describes too much attention to your own thoughts, feelings, or problems. In that phrase, the image is of someone looking inward so much that they stop noticing the wider world.
There is also a familiar extended use in names such as "navel orange," where the word refers to the little belly-button-like mark on the fruit. So the word can point to a body part, the center of something, or a small circular mark that looks like one.
Examples
- 1
Body location
The scar is just below her navel.
- 2
Medical exam
The doctor pressed gently around my navel and asked if it hurt.
- 3
Body piercing
He got his navel pierced during college.
- 4
Fruit
I bought a bag of sweet navel oranges at the market.
- Phrasenavel orange
a type of seedless orange with a small mark at one end
More examplesFewer examples
- 5
Corporate self-focus
The meeting turned into an hour of corporate navel-gazing.
- Phrasenavel-gazing
thinking too much about yourself or your own problems
See also
Forms and spellings
2 forms open this card.
Main spelling
- navelnoun
Forms
- navelspluralnoun