bowel

UK: /ˈbaʊəl/ US: /ˈbaʊəl, baʊl/ ,(bou′əl, boul)

Inflections of 'bowel' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

When both "l" and "ll" forms exist, spellings with a double "l" are correct, but rare, in US English, while those with a single "l" are not correct in UK English.

bowels

v 3rd person singular

bowelling

v pres p (Mainly UK)

boweling

v pres p (US)

bowelled

v past (Mainly UK)

boweled

v past (US)

bowelled

v past p (Mainly UK)

boweled

v past p (US)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

bow•el /ˈbaʊəl, baʊl/   n. [countable]

1. Anatomy Usually, bowels. [plural] the intestine:
   The baby's bowels are out of control.
2. bowels, [plural] the inward or interior parts:
   The silver mine was deep in the bowels of the earth.

Idioms

3. move one's bowels, to send waste matter out through the bowels:
   The doctor wanted to know how often the baby moved her bowels.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

bow•el  (bou′əl, boul), n., v., -eled, -el•ing or (esp. Brit.) -elled, -el•ling. 
n. 

1. Anatomy
   • Usually, bowels. the intestine.
   • a part of the intestine.
2. bowels:
   • the inward or interior parts:
     the bowels of the earth.
   • [Archaic.] feelings of pity or compassion.

v.t. 

3. to disembowel.

• Latin botellus little sausage (bot(ulus) sausage + -ellus -elle)
• Old French
• Middle English b(o)uel 1250–1300

bow′el•less, adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

bowel / ˈbaʊəl/ noun

1. an intestine, esp the large intestine in humans
2. (plural) innards; entrails
3. (plural) the deep or innermost part (esp in the phrase the bowels of the earth)
4. (plural) the emotions, esp of pity or sympathy

Etymology: 13th Century: from Old French bouel, from Latin botellus a little sausage, from botulus sausage