Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A flexible band, as of leather or cloth, worn around the waist or over a shoulder to support clothing, secure tools or weapons, or serve as decoration.
  • noun Something resembling a belt, as a number of machine-gun rounds attached together in a strip.
  • noun An encircling route.
  • noun A seat belt or safety belt.
  • noun A continuous band or chain for transferring motion or power or conveying materials from one wheel or shaft to another.
  • noun A band of tough reinforcing material beneath the tread of a tire.
  • noun A usually bandlike geographic region that is distinctive in a specific respect. Often used in combination.
  • noun Slang A powerful blow; a wallop.
  • noun Slang A strong emotional reaction.
  • noun Slang A drink of hard liquor.
  • transitive verb To equip, support, or attach with a belt.
  • transitive verb To encircle or mark in the manner of a belt.
  • transitive verb To beat with a belt or strap.
  • transitive verb Slang To strike forcefully; hit.
  • transitive verb Slang To sing in a loud and forceful manner.
  • transitive verb Slang To swig (an alcoholic beverage).
  • idiom (below the belt) Not according to the rules; unfairly.
  • idiom (tighten (one's) belt) To begin to exercise thrift and frugality.
  • idiom (under (one's) belt) In one's possession or experience.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To gird with a belt; specifically, to invest with a distinctive belt, as in knighting some one.
  • To fasten or secure with a belt; gird: as, to belt on a sword.
  • To encircle; surround as if with a belt or girdle.
  • To strike with or as with a belt; strap; flog.
  • noun In a war-ship, the side of the vessel, in the vicinity of the water-line, protected by external armor-plating. A complete belt is one in which the armor extends from stem to stern: a partial belt extends over only part of the length.
  • noun In archery, a strap for suspending the quiver: usually worn round the waist of the archer.
  • noun A broad flat strip or strap of leather or other flexible material, used to encircle the waist; a girdle; cincture; zone; band.
  • noun Any broad band or strip of leather or other flexible material, designed to pass round anything, with its ends joined.
  • noun Any broad band or stripe or continuous broad line distinguished in color or otherwise from adjacent objects, and encircling or appearing to encircle something.
  • noun In masonry, a band or string-course.
  • noun That which restrains or confines like a girdle.
  • noun A disease among sheep

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To encircle with, or as with, a belt; to encompass; to surround.
  • transitive verb Prov. Eng. To shear, as the buttocks and tails of sheep.
  • noun That which engirdles a person or thing; a band or girdle.
  • noun That which restrains or confines as a girdle.
  • noun Anything that resembles a belt, or that encircles or crosses like a belt; a strip or stripe.
  • noun (Arch.) Same as Band, n., 2. A very broad band is more properly termed a belt.
  • noun (Astron.) One of certain girdles or zones on the surface of the planets Jupiter and Saturn, supposed to be of the nature of clouds.
  • noun (Geog.) A narrow passage or strait.
  • noun (Her.) A token or badge of knightly rank.
  • noun (Mech.) A band of leather, or other flexible substance, passing around two wheels, and communicating motion from one to the other.
  • noun (Nat. Hist.) A band or stripe, as of color, round any organ; or any circular ridge or series of ridges.
  • noun thongs used for lacing together the ends of machine belting.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun 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.
  • noun A band used as a restraint for safety purposes, such as a seat belt.
  • noun A band that is used in a machine to help transfer motion or power.
  • noun A powerful blow, often made with a fist or heavy object.
  • noun A quick drink of liquor.
  • noun usually capitalized A geographical region known for a particular product, feature or demographic (Corn Belt, Bible Belt, Black Belt, Green Belt).

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old English, ultimately from Latin balteus.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

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").

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Examples

  • We won—and I have the title belt to this day, framed in my house.

    REY MYSTERIO BEHIND THE MASK Rey Mysterio with Jeremy Roberts 2009

  • We won—and I have the title belt to this day, framed in my house.

    REY MYSTERIO BEHIND THE MASK Rey Mysterio with Jeremy Roberts 2009

  • We won—and I have the title belt to this day, framed in my house.

    REY MYSTERIO BEHIND THE MASK Rey Mysterio with Jeremy Roberts 2009

  • When elementary school teacher Sonya Lamonakis brought the title belt she won from the Metro Championships in November to her classroom at the Family Academy in Harlem, her students ran around the room, clutching the strap over their heads in jubilee.

    Harlem Teacher Packs Punch « 2008

  • Sports When elementary school teacher Sonya Lamonakis brought the title belt she won from the Metro Championships in November to her classroom at the Family Academy in Harlem, her students ran around the room, clutching the strap over their heads in jubilee.

    2008 December « 2008

  • Proudly, the three of us, me, Edge, and Lita, held the title belt aloft, floating in the rising tide of boos that were so richly deserved.

    The Hardcore Diaries Mick Foley 2007

  • Proudly, the three of us, me, Edge, and Lita, held the title belt aloft, floating in the rising tide of boos that were so richly deserved.

    The Hardcore Diaries Mick Foley 2007

  • - Hulk Hogan defeated The Giant to win the WCW World Title when Hogan hit Giant with the title belt after the Outsiders had interfered.

    PWInsider Latest Articles 2010

  • After the match, Drew demands his title belt and then he leaves the ring.

    PWInsider Latest Articles Richard Trionfo 2010

  • At least Gail got to look at the title belt before handing it to Eve.

    PWInsider Latest Articles 2010

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