A potbelly is a big round stomach that sticks out in front, on a person or an animal. It is the noun; potbellied is the adjective. You usually say someone 'has a potbelly' or 'is getting a potbelly'. Like potbellied, the word draws a picture and carries a small sting. It is informal and a bit mocking. Among friends it can be warm teasing — a man may say it about himself quite happily. Said about a stranger, it is unkind. Polite English avoids it: 'a bit of a stomach', 'a bit of a tummy', or the gentler 'beer belly' if drinking is the cause. Note that a beer belly and a potbelly look the same, but 'beer belly' names a reason while 'potbelly' only names a shape. The word has a second, older life: a potbelly (or potbelly stove) is a small iron stove with a fat round middle, the kind that used to sit in a shop or a railway station in old films. When Americans say 'gathered round the potbelly stove', they are picturing an old-fashioned, slow, chatty scene as much as a heater. Plural is potbellies. Spelling can be potbelly or pot-belly; both appear.

啤酒肚、中年肚（口語；另有一義是舊式的圓肚鑄鐵火爐）