underbelly

/ˈʌndərˌbɛli/
noun
  1. The soft underside of an animal's body.
    • The veterinarian gently examined the dog's underbelly for ticks.
    • A turtle's underbelly is called a plastron.
    • The cat rolled over to show its white underbelly.
  2. The hidden, unpleasant, or criminal part of a society, organization, or activity.
    • The documentary exposed the dark underbelly of the fashion industry.
    • The novel explores the underbelly of political power.
    • Beneath the city's shiny surface lies a criminal underbelly.
  3. The lower or weakest part of something, especially a structure or system.
    • The bridge's underbelly was damaged by the flood.
    • Engineers inspected the underbelly of the airplane for cracks.
    • The economic underbelly of the plan was its reliance on unstable funding.
Antonyms
What does "underbelly" mean? | whatsthatwordmean | whatsthatwordmean