belt

plural belts

1. businessA 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.

   1 more example

   Master leathercrafter does handcrafted wallets, belts, purses, handbags etc., supporting self and helpers. Good enough to carve fantst art and portraits into leather.

   1987 August 15, Robert Benitez, “Personal advertisement”, in Gay Community News, volume 15, number 5, page 14

   Synonyms: girdle, waistband, sash, strap

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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

5. A trophy in the shape of a belt, generally awarded for martial arts.

   the heavyweight belt

6. astronomyA collection of small bodies (such as asteroids) which orbit a star.
7. astronomyOne of certain girdles or zones on the surface of the planets Jupiter and Saturn, supposed to be of the nature of clouds.
8. governmentA band of armor along the sides of a warship, protecting the ship's vital spaces.

   The battleship was protected by a twelve-inch belt just above the waterline.

9. 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 bar fights.

   Synonyms: blow, punch, sock, wallop

10. A quick drink of liquor.

    Care to join me in a belt of scotch?

    Synonyms: dram, nip

11. capitalizedusuallyA geographical region known for a particular product, feature or demographic (Corn Belt, Bible Belt, Black Belt, Green Belt).
12. ball gamesThe part of the strike zone at the height of the batter's waist.

    That umpire called that pitch a strike at the belt.

13. engineeringA device that holds and feeds cartridges into a belt-fed weapon.
14. entertainmentA vocal tone produced by singing with chest voice above the break (or passaggio), in a range typically sung in head voice.

    Both auditionees had great ranges but Diamond had the strong belt we really need for the finale.

    2 more examples

    As previously mentioned, there was unexpected behavior in laryngeal lowering for belt in several singers and unchanged laryngeal height for two, as well as stable opening or widening of the pharyngeal walls, which must be investigated further.

    1999, Jeannette Lovetri, Susan Lesh, Peak Woo, “Preliminary Study on the Ability of Trained Singers to Control the Intrinsic and Extrinsic Laryngeal Musculature”, in Journal of Voice, volume 13, number 2, →DOI, page 226

    In Clara's furious rant in Act II, Allsun broke out of her soprano into a belt, which made perfect sense in the moment.

    2018, Norman Spivey, Mary Saunder Barton, Cross-Training in the Voice Studio: A Balancing Act, Plural Publishing, →ISBN, page 57

15. geographyA 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.

    This belt of deformed platform sediments parallels the suture running east-to-west across the north of the region, which was left when the ocean basin that originally separated the two ancient continents on either side of it was consumed by subduction.

    1 more example

    Most foreland fold and thrust belts are linear or arcuate belts of folds and thrust faults that form a marginal part of an orogenic belt between an undeformed craton and a more intensely deformed inner zone.

    1980, B. C. Burchfiel, “Foreland Fold and Thrust Belts—Review”, in AAPG Bulletin, volume 64, number 5, American Association of Petroleum Geologists, →DOI, page 684

present singular third person belts · participle present belting · participle past belted · past belted

1. transitiveTo fasten a belt on; to encircle with a belt.

   Edgar belted himself in and turned the car's ignition.

   1 more example

   The rotund man had difficulty belting his pants, and generally wore suspenders to avoid the issue.

   Synonyms: buckle, fasten, strap

2. transitiveTo encircle; to surround.

   The small town was belted by cornfields in all directions.

   1 more example

   There now is your insular city of the Manhattoes, belted round by wharves as Indian isles by coral reefs—commerce surrounds it with her surf. Right and left, the streets take you waterward.

   1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “chapter 1”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC

   Synonyms: circle, girdle, surround

3. transitiveTo invest (a person) with a belt as part of a formal ceremony such as knighthood.
4. transitiveTo hit with a belt.

   The child was misbehaving so he was belted as punishment.

   Synonyms: strap, whip

5. colloquialtransitiveTo hit someone or something, especially forcefully; to bash.

   The angry player belted the official across the face, and as a result was ejected from the game.

   1 more example

   Bobby belting the ball

   1996, “Three Lions”, performed by David Baddiel and Frank Skinner

   Synonyms: bash, clobber, smack, wallop

6. transitiveball gamesTo hit a pitched ball a long distance, usually for a home run.

   He belted that pitch over the grandstand.

7. informaltransitiveTo scream or sing in a loud, strong manner.

   He belted out the national anthem.

   1 more example

   Céline Dion belted her iconic song "My Heart Will Go On" in a show-stopping performance at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards on May 21. The legendary singer gave the throwback performance in honor of the 20th anniversary of the hit song from the Titanic soundtrack.

   2017 May 22, Mallory Carra, “Celine Dion Is Making Everyone Cry”, in Bustle, BDG Media, retrieved 01 Jan 2022

8. transitiveTo drink quickly, often in gulps.

   He belted down a shot of whisky.

   Synonyms: gulp, pound, slurp, book, speed, whiz, zoom

9. intransitiveTo move, run, drive, etc., very fast.

   He was really belting along.

   1 more example

   I had to be pretty quick once I'd pulled the string and belt down the garden before the tiny tits escaped.

   1983, Bill Oddie, Gone Birding, London: Methuen, page 138

plural Belts

1. countableuncountableA surname.
2. countableuncountableA town in Cascade County, Montana, United States.
3. abbreviationcountableellipsisuncountableEllipsis of Main Asteroid Belt: a region of Solar System.

   1 more example

   Believe it or not, Belter slang — or, more officially, Belter Creole — isn't a completely made-up way of communicating. It's actually a mix of several Earth languages spoken by the original settlers in the Asteroid Belt colonies — very appropriate, as the Belt is a melting pot of several different races, customs and backgrounds.

   2016 January 15, Bryan Enk, “Belter Creole 101”, in SYFY, archived from the original on 15 Apr 2022