Belt
Pronunciation
- IPA: /bɛlt/
- Rhymes: -ɛlt
Origin
From Middle English, from Old English belt ("belt, girdle"), from Proto-Germanic *baltijaz ("girdle, belt"), from Latin balteus ("belt, sword-belt"), of Etruscan origin. Cognate with Danish belte ("belt"), Swedish bälte ("belt, cincture, girdle, zone"), Icelandic belti ("belt") and Albanian bel ("waist"). Probably orginally from Proto-Indo-European *bhle- ("to swell, blow up")
Noun
belt
(plural belts)- 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.As part of the act, the fat clown's belt broke, causing his pants to fall down.
- A band used as a restraint for safety purposes, such as a seat belt.Keep your belt fastened; this is going to be quite a bumpy ride.
- A band that is used in a machine to help transfer motion or power.The motor had a single belt that snaked its way back and forth around a variety of wheels.
- Anything that resembles a belt, or that encircles or crosses like a belt; a strip or stripe.a belt of trees; a belt of sand
- (astronomy) One of certain girdles or zones on the surface of the planets Jupiter and Saturn, supposed to be of the nature of clouds.
- A powerful blow, often made with a fist or heavy object.After the bouncer gave him a solid belt to the gut, Simon had suddenly had enough of barfighting.
- A quick drink of liquor.Care to join me in a belt of scotch?
- (usually capitalized) A geographical region known for a particular product, feature or demographic (Corn Belt, Bible Belt, Black Belt, Green Belt).
- (baseball) The part of the strike zone at the height of the batter's waist.That umpire called that pitch a strike at the belt.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Full definition of belt
Verb
- (transitive) To encircle.The small town was belted by cornfields in all directions.
- (transitive) To fasten a belt.Edgar belted himself in and turned the car's ignition.The rotund man had difficulty belting his pants, and generally wore suspenders to avoid the issue.
- (transitive) To hit with a belt.The child was misbehaving so it was belted as punishment.
- (transitive) and intransitive To scream or sing in a loud manner.He belted out the national anthem.
- (transitive) To drink quickly, often in gulps.He belted down a shot of whisky.
- (transitive, slang) To hit someone or something.The angry player belted the official across the face, and as a result was ejected from the game.
- (transitive, baseball) To hit a pitched ball a long distance, usually for a home run.He belted that pitch over the grandstand.
- (intransitive) To move very fastHe was really belting along.