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belt
[ belt ]
noun
- a band of flexible material, as leather or cord, for encircling the waist.
- any encircling or transverse band, strip, or stripe.
- an elongated region having distinctive properties or characteristics:
a belt of cotton plantations.
- Machinery. an endless flexible band passing about two or more pulleys, used to transmit motion from one pulley to the other or others or to convey materials and objects.
- Military.
- a cloth strip with loops or a series of metal links with grips, for holding cartridges fed into an automatic gun.
- a band of leather or webbing, worn around the waist and used as a support for weapons, ammunition, etc.
- a series of armor plates forming part of the hull of a warship.
- a broad, flexible strip of rubber, canvas, wood, etc., moved along the surface of a fresh concrete pavement to put a finish on it after it has been floated.
- a road, railroad, or the like, encircling an urban center to handle peripheral traffic.
- Slang. a hard blow or hit.
- Slang. a shot of liquor, especially as swallowed in one gulp.
- Automotive. a strip of material used in a type of motor-vehicle tire belted tire, where it is placed between the carcass and the tread for reinforcement.
verb (used with object)
- to gird or furnish with a belt.
- to surround or mark as if with a belt or band:
Garbage cans were belted with orange paint.
- to fasten on (a sword, gun, etc.) by means of a belt.
- to beat with or as if with a belt, strap, etc.
- Slang. to hit very hard, far, etc.:
You were lucky he didn't belt you in the mouth when you said that. He belted a triple to right field.
- Informal. to sing (a song) loudly and energetically (sometimes followed by out ):
She can belt out a number with the best of them.
- Slang. to drink (a shot of liquor) quickly, especially in one gulp (sometimes followed by down ):
He belted a few and went back out into the cold.
belt
/ bɛlt /
noun
- a band of cloth, leather, etc, worn, usually around the waist, to support clothing, carry tools, weapons, or ammunition, or as decoration
- a narrow band, circle, or stripe, as of colour
- an area, esp an elongated one, where a specific thing or specific conditions are found; zone
a belt of high pressure
the town belt
- a belt worn as a symbol of rank (as by a knight or an earl), or awarded as a prize (as in boxing or wrestling), or to mark particular expertise (as in judo or karate)
- See seat belt
- a band of flexible material between rotating shafts or pulleys to transfer motion or transmit goods
a conveyer belt
a fan belt
- a beltcourse See cordon
- informal.a sharp blow, as with a bat or the fist
- below the belt
- boxing below the waist, esp in the groin
- in an unscrupulous or cowardly way
- tighten one's beltto take measures to reduce expenditure
- under one's belt
- (of food or drink) in one's stomach
- in one's possession
- as part of one's experience
he had a linguistics degree under his belt
verb
- tr to fasten or attach with or as if with a belt
- tr to hit with a belt
- slang.tr to give a sharp blow; punch
- slang.introften foll byalong to move very fast, esp in a car
belting down the motorway
- rare.tr to mark with belts, as of colour
- rare.tr to encircle; surround
belt
/ bĕlt /
- A geographic region that is distinctive in a specific respect.
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Derived Forms
- ˈbelted, noun
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Other Words From
- beltless adjective
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Word History and Origins
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Word History and Origins
Origin of belt1
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Idioms and Phrases
- below the belt, not in accord with the principles of fairness, decency, or good sportsmanship:
criticism that hit below the belt.
- tighten one's belt,
- to undergo hardship patiently.
- to curtail one's expenditures; be more frugal:
They were urged to tighten their belts for the war effort.
- under one's belt, Informal.
- in one's stomach, as food or drink:
With a few Scotches under his belt, he's everyone's friend.
- considered as a matter of successful past experience:
I don't think our lawyer has enough similar cases under his belt.
More idioms and phrases containing belt
- below the belt
- bible belt
- sun belt
- tighten one's belt
- under one's belt
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Synonym Study
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Example Sentences
They want to change bad behaviors—tobacco, alcohol, using a seat belt, anything.
Now they are a notch on a belt, and the savior can feel good about themselves.
Det. 2: No, not your belt . . . . Remember being out in the sunroom, the room that sits out to the back of the house?
Not long after, a 10-year-old girl wearing a suicide belt was arrested.
He would laboriously make his way from desk to loo, belt down a few, then return.
His boyish suspenders had been put away in favor of a belt, which was tight-drawn about his slim waist.
He reached down inside my shirt, with a none too gentle hand, and relieved me of the belt that held the money.
Just smiled, a sardonic sort of grimace, and unbuckled his belt and handed it over without a word.
He put his hand to his belt, screwed up his mug, and said he felt plumb et up inside.
A millionaire might offer more for a life belt as a souvenir than a drowning man could pay for it to save his life.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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