(belts, belting, belted)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
A belt is a strip of leather or cloth that you fasten round your waist.
He wore a belt with a large brass buckle.
N-COUNT
2.
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.
N-COUNT
3.
A belt of land or sea is a long, narrow area of it that has some special feature.
Miners in Zambia's northern copper belt have gone on strike...
= strip
N-COUNT: with supp
4.
If someone belts you, they hit you very hard. (INFORMAL)
'Is it right she belted old George in the gut?' she asked.
= thump
VERB: V n
•
Belt is also a noun.
Father would give you a belt over the head with the scrubbing brush.
N-COUNT
5.
If you belt somewhere, you move or travel there very fast. (INFORMAL)
We belted down Iveagh Parade to where the motor was.
= dash
VERB: V prep/adv
6.
7.
Something that is below the belt is cruel and unfair.
Do you think it's a bit below the belt what they're doing?
...this kind of below-the-belt discrimination.
PHRASE
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.
Clearly, if you are spending more than your income, you'll need to tighten your belt.
PHRASE: V inflects
9.
If you have something under your belt, you have already achieved it or done it.
Clare is now a full-time author with six books, including four novels, under her belt.
PHRASE: have/with n PHR