n.
- a strip of leather or other material worn round the waist to support or hold in clothes or to carry weapons.
▸a belt worn as a sign of rank or achievement, as in judo, karate, or similar sports.
▸
(the belt)
the punishment of being struck with a belt.
- a continuous band of material used in machinery for transferring motion from one wheel to another.
- a strip or encircling area of a specified kind:
the asteroid belt.
- informal a heavy blow.
v.
- fasten or secure with a belt.
- beat or hit very hard.
▸
(belt something out)
informal sing or play something loudly and without finesse.
- informal rush or dash in a specified direction.
-
(belt up)
Brit. informal be quiet.
Phrase
- below the belt
unfair; disregarding the rules. - belt and braces
Brit. providing double security, by using more than one means to the same end. - tighten one's belt
cut one's expenditure. - under one's belt
safely or satisfactorily achieved, experienced, or acquired.
Derivative
Etymology
OE, of Gmc origin, from L. balteus ‘girdle’.