belt

I. belt¹ S2 W3 /belt/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[Language: Old English]
1. a band of leather, cloth etc that you wear around your waist to hold up your clothes or for decoration:
He unbuckled his leather belt.
2. a large area of land that has particular features or where particular people live:
America’s farming belt
the green (=countryside) belt British English ⇨ ↑green belt
3. a circular band of something such as rubber that connects or moves parts of a machine ⇨ ↑conveyor belt, ↑fan belt
4. below the belt informal unfair or cruel:
That was a bit below the belt, Paul.
The comments hit below the belt (=they were unfair or cruel).
5. have something under your belt to have achieved something useful or important:
a secretary with several years’ experience under her belt
6. belt and braces British English informal a belt and braces way of doing something is one in which you do more than necessary in order to make sure that it succeeds
⇨ ↑black belt, ↑garter belt, ↑safety belt, ↑seat belt, ↑suspender belt, ⇨ tighten your belt at ↑tighten(6)
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 2)
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + belt
▪ a wide belt Along the coast is a wide belt of sand dunes.
▪ a narrow belt The tree grows in a narrow belt around the western Mediterranean.
▪ the green belt British English (=land around a city where building is not allowed) the government's commitment to protecting the green belt
▪ a mountain belt (=a long and wide area of mountains) mountain belts such as the Himalayas
▪ a coastal belt (=land along the coast) The wide coastal belt is a flat plain, partially wooded.
▪ an industrial belt (=where there are a lot of factories etc) the northern industrial belt of the United States
▪ the corn/cotton/wheat belt (=where corn/cotton etc is grown) Western Australia's wheat belt
▪ the commuter belt British English (=an area around a large city from where people travel to work in the city every day) House prices are high in the London commuter belt.
▪ the stockbroker belt British English (=an area around a city where rich people who work in the city live) wealthy families living in the stockbroker belt

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

belt

belt [belt belts belted belting] noun, verb [belt] [belt]

noun

1. a long narrow piece of leather, cloth, etc. that you wear around the waist
• to do up/fasten/tighten a belt
• a belt buckle

see also black belt, lifebelt, seat belt, suspender belt

2. a continuous band of material that moves round and is used to carry things along or to drive machinery

see also conveyor belt, fan belt

3. an area with particular characteristics or where a particular group of people live
• the country's corn/industrial belt
• We live in the commuter belt.
• a belt of rain moving across the country

see also green belt

4. (informal) an act of hitting sth/sb hard
• She gave the ball a terrific belt.
more at tighten your belt at tighten
Word Origin:
Old English, of Germanic origin, from Latin balteus ‘girdle’.
Example Bank:
• She was wearing a garter belt and stockings.
• The space mission provided new data on the Earth's radiation belts.
• a narrow belt of trees
• a studded leather belt
• Buffalo is an American rust belt city that was home to several steel mills.
• The government promised to maintain the green belt.
• Towns in the country's industrial belt were particularly affected by the recession.
• We live in the commuter belt.

• the US corn belt

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition

belt / belt / noun [ C ] (CLOTHING)

belt

A2 a strip of leather or material worn around the waist to support clothes or for decoration:

She fastened her belt tightly around her waist.

He had eaten so much that he had to undo his belt a couple of notches.

See picture clothes 4

belt / belt / noun [ C ] (MOVING STRIP)

a flat strip of material in a machine that moves along continuously to keep another part turning, or to keep objects on it moving along:

a fan belt

a conveyor belt

belt / belt / noun [ C usually singular ] (AREA)

an area, usually just outside a city, where a particular group of people live, such as the commuter belt and the stockbroker belt, or an area that is known for a particular characteristic, such as the cotton belt (= an area where cotton is grown)

belt / belt / noun [ C usually singular ] informal (HIT)

a hard hit or punch:

a belt on the jaw

Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

belt

/belt/
(belts, belting, belted)

Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.

1.
A belt is a strip of leather or cloth that you fasten round your waist.
He wore a belt with a large brass buckle.
N-COUNT
see also safety belt, seat belt

2.
A belt in a machine is a circular strip of rubber that is used to drive moving parts or to move objects along.
The turning disc is connected by a drive belt to an electric motor.
N-COUNT
see also conveyor belt, fan belt

3.
A belt of land or sea is a long, narrow area of it that has some special feature.
Miners in Zambia’s northern copper belt have gone on strike...
= strip
N-COUNT: with supp
see also Bible Belt, commuter belt, green belt

4.
If someone belts you, they hit you very hard. (INFORMAL)
‘Is it right she belted old George in the gut?’ she asked.
= thump
VERB: V n
•
Belt is also a noun.
Father would give you a belt over the head with the scrubbing brush.
N-COUNT

5.
If you belt somewhere, you move or travel there very fast. (INFORMAL)
We belted down Iveagh Parade to where the motor was.
= dash
VERB: V prep/adv

6.
see also belted

7.
Something that is below the belt is cruel and unfair.
Do you think it’s a bit below the belt what they’re doing?
...this kind of below-the-belt discrimination.
PHRASE

8.
If you have to tighten your belt, you have to spend less money and manage without things because you have less money than you used to have.
Clearly, if you are spending more than your income, you’ll need to tighten your belt.
PHRASE: V inflects

9.
If you have something under your belt, you have already achieved it or done it.
Clare is now a full-time author with six books, including four novels, under her belt.
PHRASE: have/with n PHR

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary:

¹belt /ˈbɛlt/ noun, pl belts [count]
1 : a band of material (such as leather) that is worn around a person's waist
• I fastened/unfastened the buckle on my belt. = I buckled/unbuckled my belt.
• I tied the belt of my robe.
- see color picture
- see also black belt, garter belt, safety belt, seat belt
2 : a band that runs around wheels or other parts in a machine and that is used for moving or carrying something - see also fan belt
3 : a region that has a lot of a particular thing
• a belt of hilly land [=an area with many hills]
• a storm belt
• the farm/farming belt
• the corn/cotton belt [=a region with many farms growing corn/cotton]
• an asteroid belt
• (chiefly US) cities in the Rust Belt [=an area formerly known for industry and manufacturing]
- see also bible belt, sunbelt
below the belt informal : too harsh and unfair
• That remark was below the belt. = That remark really hit (him) below the belt.
✦The phrase below the belt comes from the sport of boxing, where it is against the rules to hit your opponent anywhere below the belt.
tighten your belt : to begin to spend less money : to make changes in order to save money
• Many companies are tightening their belts during the recession.
- see also belt-tightening
under your belt : as an achievement or as part of your experience
• She has a best-selling book under her belt. [=she has written a best-selling book]
• an actor who has several films under his belt [=who has appeared in several films]
• He finally has a full year of experience under his belt.