belt

Meaning

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.

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

gordel

Gurt

cinto

riem

ζώνη

faja

cinturó

cinghia

Riemen

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”).