belay
Use Belay in a sentence
verb (used with object)
1.
Nautical. to fasten (a rope) by winding around a pin or short rod inserted in a holder so that both ends of the rod are clear.
2.
Mountain Climbing.
a.
to secure (a person) by attaching to one end of a rope.
b.
to secure (a rope) by attaching to a person or to an object offering stable support.
3.
a.
to cease (an action); stop.
b.
to ignore (an announcement, order, etc.): Belay that, the meeting will be at 0900 instead of 0800.
verb (used without object)
4.
to belay a rope: Belay on that cleat over there.
noun
5.
Mountain Climbing. a rock, bush, or other object sturdy enough for a running rope to be passed around it to secure a hold.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To belay
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Belay
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is skedaddle. Does it mean:
| to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax. |
| to run away hurriedly; flee. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
belay (bɪˈleɪ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb , -lays, -laying, -layed | |
| 1. | nautical to make fast (a line) by securing to a pin, cleat, or bitt |
| 2. | (usually imperative) nautical to stop; cease |
| 3. | mountaineering to secure (a climber) to a mountain by tying the rope off round a rock spike, piton, nut, etc |
| —n | |
| 4. | mountaineering See also running belay the attachment (of a climber) to a mountain by tying the rope off round a rock spike, piton, nut, etc, to safeguard the party in the event of a fall |
| [Old English belecgan; related to Old High German bileggen, Dutch beleggen] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
belay
O.E. bilecgan, among other senses, "to lay a thing about" (with other objects), from be- + lecgan "to lay" (see lay). The only surviving sense is the nautical one of "coil a running rope round a cleat or pin to secure it" (also transferred to mountain-climbing), first attested
1540s; but this is possibly a cognate word, from Du. beleggen.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
The rope had either broken in the fall, or when his partner tried to belay him over a rock edge.
IN rock climbing, the belay rope is your umbilical cord.
Belay that dream: a laydown date is the day that a book officially goes on sale.
In your hand is an ice hammer, and a piton or ice screw for securing a belay rope to the top.
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