bowels
Syllables: bow·els/ˈbaʊ.əlz/
bowels noun: the deepest or innermost part. Also the plural of bowel.
Noun
bowels pl (plural only)
- The deepest or innermost part.
- down in the bowels of the Earth
- O momentary grace of mortal men, / Which we more hunt for than the grace of God! / Who builds his hopes in air of your good looks, / Lives like a drunken sailor on a mast, / Ready, with every nod, to tumble down / Into the fatal bowels of the deep.c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
- The concept or quality that defines something at its very core.
- the project’s bowels
- The intestines.
- Compassion, sympathy.
- Therefore in fierce tempest is he coming, / In thunder and in earthquake, like a Jove, / That, if requiring fail, he will compel; / And bids you, in the bowels of the Lord, / Deliver up the crown, and to take mercy / On the poor souls for whom this hungry war / Opens his vasty jaws1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
- If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Philippians 2:1-2
- Synonyms:
- fellow feeling, pity, commiseration, compassion, empathy, mercy, remorse, rue, ruth, sympathy
- The body as the source of offspring.
- And David said to Abishai, and to all his servants, Behold, my son, which came forth of my bowels, seeketh my life: how much more now may this Benjamite do it?1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Samuel 16:11
- Had you been their natural Parents, and they the Children of your own Bowels, Methinks, you could not have Contributed much more Bountifully to their Assistance […]1751, Thomas Skinner, “A Sermon preach’d at the Ma’nor of Peace, in the County of Hampshire, on May the 9th, 1751” in Alfred Baylies Page, Reverend Grindall Rawson and his Ministry, 1907, p. 9
Also used as
bowels is also the plural of bowel.
bowels meaning in Arabic and Vietnamese
bowels in Arabic
- intestines
- مِعًى miʕan
bowels in Vietnamese
- intestines
- ruột, tràng
Examples of bowels in a sentence
- At length, when the last pint is casked, and all is cool, then the great hatchways are unsealed, the bowels of the ship are thrown open, and down go the casks to their final rest in the sea.1851 November 14, Herman Melville, Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard...
- Down there in the bowels of London, after midnight, everything seemed horrible and unnatural.1922, D. H. Lawrence, chapter 6, in Aaron’s Rod, London: Martin Secker, page 69:
Synonyms of bowels
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
- gravamen
- heart and soul
- kernel
- marrow
- meat
- moral of the story
- nitty-gritty
- nub
- nuts and bolts
- pith
- punctum saliens
- quintessence
- soul
- spirit
- stuff
- substance
- tenor
- entrails
- innards
- insides
- fellow feeling
- pity
- commiseration
- compassion
- empathy
- mercy
- sympathy
- tenderheartedness
- loving-kindness
- heartstring
Words formed from bowels
Phrases with bowels
- book bowels
- large bowels
- small bowels
- open one's bowels
- moved one's bowels
- moves one's bowels
- opens one's bowels
- moving one's bowels
- opened one's bowels
- opening one's bowels
- get one's bowels in an uproar
- got one's bowels in an uproar
3 more phrasesFewer phrases
Words that rhyme with bowels
Questions about bowels
- What does bowels mean?
- Bowels means the deepest or innermost part.
- What is bowels in Arabic?
- Bowels in Arabic is مِعًى (miʕan). See Bowels meaning in Arabic.
- How do you use bowels in a sentence?
- At length, when the last pint is casked, and all is cool, then the great hatchways are unsealed, the bowels of the ship are thrown open, and down go the casks to their final rest in the sea.
- What part of speech is bowels?
- Bowels is a noun.
- How do you pronounce bowels?
- Bowels is pronounced /ˈbaʊ.əlz/ (US).
Words near bowels in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: bowels (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-bowels.ogg.
Cite this entry: “bowels.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/bowels. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.