belt (belts plural & 3rd person present) (belting present participle) (belted past tense & past participle )
1 n-count A belt is a strip of leather or cloth that you fasten round your waist.
He wore a belt with a large brass buckle.
→
safety belt
→
seat belt
2 n-count A belt in a machine is a circular strip of rubber that is used to drive moving parts or to move objects along.
The turning disc is connected by a drive belt to an electric motor.
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conveyor belt
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fan belt
3 n-count A belt of land or sea is a long, narrow area of it that has some special feature.
with supp
(=strip)
Miners in Zambia's northern copper belt have gone on strike...
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Bible Belt
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commuter belt
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green belt
4 verb If someone belts you, they hit you very hard.
INFORMAL
(=thump)
`Is it right she belted old George in the gut?' she asked. V n
Belt is also a noun., n-count
Father would give you a belt over the head with the scrubbing brush.
5 verb If you belt somewhere, you move or travel there very fast.
INFORMAL
(=dash)
We belted down Iveagh Parade to where the motor was. V prep/adv
7 Something that is below the belt is cruel and unfair.
below the belt phrase
Do you think it's a bit below the belt what they're doing?, ...this kind of below-the-belt discrimination.
8 If you have to tighten your belt, you have to spend less money and manage without things because you have less money than you used to have.
tighten one's belt phrase V inflects
Clearly, if you are spending more than your income, you'll need to tighten your belt.
9 If you have something under your belt, you have already achieved it or done it.
under your belt phrase have/with n PHR Clare is now a full-time author with six books, including four novels, under her belt. belt out phrasal verb If you belt out a song, you sing or play it very loudly. INFORMAL He held a three-hour family Karaoke session in his hotel, belting out Sinatra and Beatles hits. V P n, Also V n P
below-the-belt
→
belt
belt-tightening
If you need to do some belt-tightening, you must spend less money and manage without things because you have less money than you used to have. n-uncount
This will cause further belt-tightening in the public services.
Bible Belt , bible belt
Parts of the southern United States are referred to as the Bible Belt because Protestants with strong beliefs have a lot of influence there. n-proper the N
black belt (black belts plural )
1 n-count A black belt is worn by someone who has reached a very high standard in a sport such as judo or karate.
He holds a black belt in karate.
2 n-count You can refer to someone who has a black belt in judo or karate as a black belt.
Murray is a judo black belt.
commuter belt (commuter belts plural )A commuter belt is the area surrounding a large city, where many people who work in the city live. n-count
...people who live in the commuter belt around the capital.
conveyor belt (conveyor belts plural )
1 n-count A conveyor belt or a conveyor is a continuously moving strip of rubber or metal which is used in factories for moving objects along so that they can be dealt with as quickly as possible.
The damp bricks went along a conveyor belt into another shed to dry.
2 n-count If you describe a situation as a conveyor belt, you dislike it because it produces things or people which are all the same or always deals with things or people in the same way., (disapproval)
fan belt (fan belts plural )In a car engine, the fan belt is the belt that drives the fan which keeps the engine cool. n-count
garter belt (garter belts plural )A garter belt is a piece of underwear for women that is used for holding up stockings.
(AM) n-count
in BRIT, use suspender belt
green belt (green belts plural )A green belt is an area of land with fields or parks around a town or city, where people are not allowed to build houses or factories by law. n-count
Rust Belt , rust belt
In the United States and some other countries, the Rust Belt is a region which used to have a lot of manufacturing industry, but whose economy is now in difficulty. n-sing the N
...in the rust belt of the mid-west.
safety belt (safety belts plural ), safety-belt A safety belt is a strap attached to a seat in a car or aeroplane. You fasten it round your body and it stops you being thrown forward if there is an accident. n-count
(=seat belt)
seat belt (seat belts plural ), seatbelt A seat belt is a strap attached to a seat in a car or an aircraft. You fasten it across your body in order to prevent yourself being thrown out of the seat if there is a sudden movement. n-count
(=safety belt)
The fact I was wearing a seat belt saved my life.
stockbroker belt (stockbroker belts plural )Thestockbroker belt is an area outside a city, especially London, where rich people who travel to work in the city live.
(BRIT) n-count usu the N
He grew up in the comfort of the Surrey stockbroker belt.
suspender belt (suspender belts plural )A suspender belt is a piece of underwear for women that is used for holding up stockings.
(BRIT) n-count
in AM, use garter belt
