Meanings
- broadlyidiomaticUnfair; dirty; not according to the generally accepted rules.
Commenting on his bachelorhood in a debate on marital ethics was a bit below the belt, don't you think?
1 more example
Mr. Nixon attacked Mr. [Hubert] Humphrey with gusto, sounding to an unusual degree like Mr. Humphrey attacking Mr. Nixon. He said he knew his opponents were in trouble because “you know politicians are behind when they start to name call, when they start to panic, to hit below the belt.”
1968 October 18, R[aymond] W[alter] Apple Jr., “[Richard] Nixon Again Backs a Bombing Pause if It Costs No Lives”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivedisregarding the rules (from the notion of an illegal low blow in boxing)
adverbin an unfair manner
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Dutch onder de gordel, onder de gordel
- onder de gordel(boxing) of a punch that lands below the opponent's waist
- onder de gordelunfair; not according to the rules
Finnish vyön alle, vyön alle
- vyön alle(boxing) of a punch that lands below the opponent's waist
- vyön alleunfair; not according to the rules
French déloyal, en dessous de la ceinture
- déloyalunfair; not according to the rules
- en dessous de la ceintureunfair; not according to the rules
German unter der Gürtellinie, unter der Gürtellinie
- unter der Gürtellinie(boxing) of a punch that lands below the opponent's waist
- unter der Gürtellinieunfair; not according to the rules
Hungarian övön alul, övön aluli
- övön alul(boxing) of a punch that lands below the opponent's waist
- övön aluli(boxing) of a punch that lands below the opponent's waist
- övön alulunfair; not according to the rules
- övön aluliunfair; not according to the rules
Icelandic undir beltisstað, undir beltisstað
- undir beltisstað(boxing) of a punch that lands below the opponent's waist
- undir beltisstaðunfair; not according to the rules
Irish buille íseal
- buille íseal(boxing) of a punch that lands below the opponent's waist
Italian scorretto
- scorrettounfair; not according to the rules
Polish poniżej pasa, poniżej pasa
- poniżej pasa(boxing) of a punch that lands below the opponent's waist
- poniżej pasaunfair; not according to the rules
Russian ни́же пояса, ни́же пояса
- ни́же пояса (níže pojasa)(boxing) of a punch that lands below the opponent's waist
- ни́же пояса (níže pojasa)unfair; not according to the rules
Spanish de golpe bajo
- de golpe bajounfair; not according to the rules
Swedish under bältet, under bältet
- under bältet(boxing) of a punch that lands below the opponent's waist
- under bältetunfair; not according to the rules
Cite this entry
below the belt. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/below%20the%20belt
“below the belt.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/below%20the%20belt. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “below the belt,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/below%20the%20belt.
Source: below the belt on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.