belt

Noun

1. A band worn around the waist to hold clothing to one's body (usually pants), hold weapons (such as a gun or sword), or serve as a decorative piece of clothing.
2. A band used as a restraint for safety purposes, such as a seat belt.
3. A band that is used in a machine to help transfer motion or power.
4. Anything that resembles a belt, or that encircles or crosses like a belt; a strip or stripe.
5. A trophy in the shape of a belt, generally awarded for martial arts.
6. A collection of small bodies (such as asteroids) which orbit a star.
7. One of certain girdles or zones on the surface of the planets Jupiter and Saturn, supposed to be of the nature of clouds.
8. A band of armor along the sides of a warship, protecting the ship's vital spaces.
9. A powerful blow, often made with a fist or heavy object.
10. A quick drink of liquor.
11. (capitalized, usually) A geographical region known for a particular product, feature or demographic (Corn Belt, Bible Belt, Black Belt, Green Belt).
12. The part of the strike zone at the height of the batter's waist.
13. A device that holds and feeds cartridges into a belt-fed weapon.
14. A vocal tone produced by singing with chest voice above the break (or passaggio), in a range typically sung in head voice.
15. A mostly-continuous, often curvilinear structure expressed on the surface or in the subsurface of a terrestrial planet or other solid planemo, such as a mountain belt, a fold and thrust belt, or an ore belt.

Verb

1. (transitive) To encircle.
2. (transitive) To fasten a belt on.
3. (transitive) To invest (a person) with a belt as part of a formal ceremony such as knighthood.
4. (transitive) To hit with a belt.
5. (informal, transitive) To scream or sing in a loud, strong manner.
6. (transitive) To drink quickly, often in gulps.
7. (colloquial, transitive) To hit someone or something.
8. (transitive) To hit a pitched ball a long distance, usually for a home run.
9. (intransitive) To move very fast.

Pronounced as (IPA)

/bɛlt/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: belt

Inherited from Old English: belt

Cognate with Scots: belt

Cognate with Dutch: belt

Cognate with German: Balz

Cognate with Danish: bælte

Cognate with Swedish: bälte

Cognate with Icelandic: belti

In summary

From Middle English belt, from Old English belt (“belt, girdle”), from Proto-West Germanic *baltī̆, from Proto-Germanic *baltijaz (“girdle, belt”), from Latin balteus (“belt, sword-belt”), of Etruscan origin. Cognate with Scots belt (“belt”), Dutch belt, German Balz (“belt”), Danish bælte (“belt”), Swedish bälte (“belt, cincture, girdle, zone”) and Icelandic belti (“belt”).

Synonyms

girdle

strap

band

sash

zone

waistband

thong

strip

ribbon

🎀

tape

knock

region

bash

bang

girth

waist-band

gird

beat

whack

area

cincture

smash

rope

🪢

obi

stripe

slap

belted ammunition

hit

whang

belt out

clout

strike

belt ammunition

twine

tie

throw

tier

wallop

swing

bandage

drive

string

🪢

swath

district

smite

sphere

buckle

cordon

rap

blow

Translations

ceinture

Gürtel

cinturón

cintura

pas

gordel

Gurt

cinto

riem

ζώνη

faja

cinturó

cinghia

pasek

Riemen