Dictionary:

belt

  (bĕlt)

1. 1. A flexible band, as of leather or cloth, worn around the waist to support clothing, secure tools or weapons, or serve as decoration.
   2. Something that resembles this type of band: a belt of trees.
2. An encircling route.
3. A seat belt or safety belt.
4. A continuous band or chain for transferring motion or power or conveying materials from one wheel or shaft to another.
5. A band of tough reinforcing material beneath the tread of a tire.
6. A geographic region that is distinctive in a specific respect: “This is America's rural poverty belt” (Charles Kuralt).
7. Slang. A powerful blow; a wallop.
8. Slang. A strong emotional reaction.
9. Slang. A drink of hard liquor.

1. To encircle; gird.
2. To support or attach with or as if with a belt: belt one's trousers; belted the sword to her waist.
3. To mark with or as if with an encircling band.
4. To beat with a belt or strap.
5. Slang. To strike forcefully; hit.
6. Slang. To sing in a loud and forceful manner: belt out a song.
7. Slang. To swig (an alcoholic beverage).

below the belt

1. Not according to the rules; unfairly.

1. To begin to exercise thrift and frugality.

1. In one's possession or experience: “By his mid-teens, Liszt had three years of intensive concertizing under his belt” (Musical Heritage Review).

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

noun

1. A part of the earth's surface: area, district, locality, neighborhood, quarter, region, tract, zone. Informal neck of the woods. See territory.
2. A sudden sharp, powerful stroke: bang, blow, clout, crack, hit, lick, pound, slug, sock, swat, thwack, welt, whack, wham, whop. Informal bash, biff, bop, clip, wallop. Slang conk, paste. See attack/defend, strike/miss.
3. An act of drinking or the amount swallowed: draft, drink, potation, pull, quaff, sip, sup, swill. Informal swig. See mouth.

verb

1. To encircle with or as if with a band: band, begird, cincture, compass, encompass, engirdle, gird, girdle, girt, ring. Archaic engird. See edge/center.
2. To deliver a powerful blow to suddenly and sharply: bash, catch, clout, hit, knock, pop, slam, slog, slug, smash, smite, sock, strike, swat, thwack, whack, wham, whop. Informal biff, bop, clip, wallop. Slang conk, paste. Idioms: let someone have it, sock it to someone. See attack/defend, strike/miss.
3. To take into the mouth and swallow (a liquid): drink, imbibe, pull on, quaff, sip, sup. Informal swig, toss down (or off). Idioms: wet one's whistle. See mouth.

Idioms beginning with belt:
belt down

See also below the belt; bible belt; sun belt; tighten one's belt; under one's belt.

Definition: hit hard
Antonyms: pat, tap

A belt is a flexible band, typically made of leather or heavy cloth, and worn around the waist.

A modern day belt buckle.

A belt supports trousers or other articles of clothing, and it serves for style and decoration.

Historically, a belt was also used for spanking children, and by masters for spanking servants. This use has somewhat declined in the Western world, as it is viewed as too barbaric and uncontrollable a form of corporal punishment by certain people.

History

Belts have been documented both for male and female clothing since the Bronze Age. Both sexes used them off and on, depending on the current fashion, but it was a rarity in female fashion with the exception of the early Middle Ages, late 17th century Mantua and skirt/blouse combinations between 1900 and 1910. Art Nouveau belt buckles are nowadays collector's items.

In the military, belts have been worn for centuries; at times for utilitarian use, but in certain periods, particularly the latter half of the 19th century and up until the first World War, the belt was strictly a decorative part of the uniform, particularly among officers. In the armed forces of Prussia, Crimea, and other Eastern European nations, it was common for officers to wear extremely tight, wide belts around the waist, on the outside of the uniform. These tightly cinched belts served to draw in the waist and give the wearer a trim physique, emphasizing wide shoulders and a pouting chest. Oftentimes the belt served only to emphasize a waist made small by a corset worn under the uniform, a practice which was common especially during the Crimean Wars and was often noted by soldiers from the Western front. Political cartoonists of the day often portrayed the tight waist-cinching of soldiers to comedic effect, and some cartoons survive showing officers being corsetted by their inferiors, a practice which surely was uncomfortable but deemed to be necessary and imposing.

In modern times, men started wearing belts in the 1920s, as trouser waists fell to a lower, natural line. Before the 1920s, belts served mostly a decorative purpose, and were associated with the military. Today, most men wear a belt with their pants; women tend to wear them for more decorative functions.

Since the mid 1990s, the practice of sagging has been popular at times among young men and boys. This fashion trend consists of wearing the trousers very low on the hips, often exposing the underwear and buttocks of the wearer. This urban style, which has roots tracing to prison gangs (and the prohibition of belts in prison, due to their use as weapons and devices for suicide) has remained popular into the 21st century, particularly among pubescent boys. A belt may or may not be worn with this style - if a belt is used, it is cinched tightly at the mid-buttock region, with the effect that the trousers of the wearer are being held up by genitalia underneath. Many public schools now enforce belt-wearing, often only for the male population, and requiring the belts to be worn tightly at waist level with a tucked-in shirt.

Variants

A police officer's duty belt.

• One specialized type of belt is the utility belt or Police duty belt, which includes pockets for carrying items that the wearer needs for prompt use and loops to hang larger items. Police officers, soldiers, and repair personnel are typical roles which use this kind of belt. A famous fictional example is Batman's utility belt.
• The sash is another variant of the belt, generally decorative or even ceremonial.
• A cummerbund is a belt-like decorative garment worn about the waist.
• A common sight in fantasy and roleplaying characters is the excessive use of belts in all different sizes on one's person. Usually they are used either for securing clothing and armor, but others just have several belts around the arms, legs, neck, waist, hips, and across the chest for decoration. Sometimes they are used in place of eyepatches or to decorate weapons.
• A Studded Belt is typically made of leather or similar materials, and is decorated with metal studs. Studded Belts are often a part of punk, emo, skater and metal fashion.

References

See also

• Balteus
• Belting (beating)
• Branie belt
• Champion belt
• Chastity belt
• Conveyor belt
• Explosive belt
• Money belt
• Seat belt
• Obi (sash)
• Batman's utility belt
• St. Tropez Belt
• Zone (vestment)
• Suspenders

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - bælte, rem
v. tr. - give bælte på, lægge bælte om

idioms:

• below the belt    under bæltestedet
• belt and braces    med både livrem og seler
• belt out    skråle, skråle af fuld hals
• Belt up    hold mund! klap i!
• to belt up    klappe i, holde mund
• under one's belt    inden for vesten

Nederlands (Dutch)
riem, ceintuur, koppel, drijfriem, lopende band, opdoffer, slok, omgorden, een knal verkopen, snel vooruitgaan, met een riem afranselen

Français (French)
n. - (Mil) ceinturon, ceinture, gaine, baudrier, région, coup bas (boxe), (Tech) courroie, (US) route de ceinture
v. tr. - ceindre, ceinturer, donner des coups de ceinture à, gifler

idioms:

• below the belt    coup bas, (fig) en dessous de la ceinture, (donner à qn) un coup en traître
• belt and braces    deux précautions valent mieux qu'une, se donner une marge de sécurité
• belt out    brailler, vociférer, gueuler
• belt up    (GB) la boucler (arg), (Aut) attacher sa ceinture de sécurité
• Belt up!    la ferme (excl), boucle-la (excl)
• under one's belt    (avoir) à son actif, (avoir) à son acquis

Deutsch (German)
n. - Gurt, Gürtel, Band, Koppel, Riemen
v. - gürten

idioms:

• below the belt    unter der Gürtellinie
• belt and braces    mehrfache Absicherung
• belt out    herausbrüllen, gröhlen
• belt up    sich anschnallen
• Belt up!    Halt die Klappe!
• under one's belt    im Bauch, intus

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - ζώνη, λουρί(δα), ζωνάρι, (ατέρμονας) ιμάντας, φυσιγγιοθήκη, δυνατό κτύπημα με τη γροθιά ή το χέρι
v. - ζώνω, περιζώνω, δέρνω με λουρί, χτυπώ δυνατά, γρονθοκοπώ, τρέχω, τραγουδώ δυνατά (και φάλτσα), γκαρίζω

idioms:

• below the belt    κάτω από τη ζώνη, ύπουλο
• belt and braces    διπλή εξασφάλιση
• belt out    τραγουδώ δυνατά (και φάλτσα), γκαρίζω, βγαίνω τρέχοντας
• Belt up    Βγάλε το σκασμό!
• to belt up    βγάζω το σκασμό, το βουλώνω, φοράω ζώνη ασφαλείας
• under one's belt    (για φαγητό) φαγωμένο, εξασφαλισμένος

Italiano (Italian)
cingere, cintura

idioms:

• below the belt    colpo basso
• belt and braces    prudentissimo
• belt out    urlare
• belt up    chiudere la bocca
• Belt up!    chiudi la bocca!
• life belt    salvagente
• tighten one's belt    stringere la cintura
• under one's belt    al proprio attivo

Português (Portuguese)
n. - cinto (m), correia (f), região (f) que tem certas características, correia (f) de transmissão (Mec.)
v. - colocar cinto, circundar

idioms:

• below the belt    injusto, desonesto
• belt and braces    esforços desnecessários
• belt out    cantar em voz alta
• belt up    fechar com cinto
• belt up!    cale a boca! (gír.)
• life belt    cinto (m) salva-vidas
• safety belt    salva-vidas (m) (Náut.), cinto (m) de segurança (Aer.)
• seat belt    cinto (m) de segurança (Aer.)
• tighten one's belt    apertar o cinto (gír.)
• under one's belt    experiência (f) acumulada

Русский (Russian)
ремень, пояс, портупея

idioms:

• below the belt    ниже пояса
• belt and braces    и ремень и подтяжки, дважды закреплять
• belt out    орать, горланить
• belt up    замолкать
• belt up!    молчать!
• life belt    морской спасательный ремень
• safety belt    ремень безопасности
• seat belt    ремень безопасности
• tighten one's belt    затянуть потуже ремень, меньше тратить, скромнее жить
• under one's belt    на счету, за душой, в запасе, успел сделать

Español (Spanish)
n. - cinturón, cinto, correa, cinta, zona
v. tr. - pegar con una correa, ceñirse, rodearse

idioms:

• below the belt    golpe bajo
• belt and braces    doble seguridad (en una póliza)
• belt out    cantar a voz en grito
• belt up    callarse
• Belt up!    ¡cállate la boca!, ¡cierra el pico!
• under one's belt    tener algo en su haber, tener algo terminado

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - bälte, skärp, livrem, zon
v. - omgjorda

中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
带子, 地带, 用皮带抽打, 用带标明, 用带捆住, 环绕

idioms:

• below the belt    用不正当手段, 不公正
• belt and braces    腰带加背带, 双重保险, 万无一失
• belt out    高声歌唱, 起劲地说
• Belt up    系腰带, 系安全带, 别说话, 请安静
• to belt up    系腰带, 系安全带, 别说话, 请安静
• under one's belt    在胃中

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 帶子, 地帶
v. tr. - 用皮帶抽打, 用帶標明, 用帶捆住, 環繞

idioms:

• below the belt    用不正當手段, 不公正
• belt and braces    腰帶加背帶, 雙重保險, 萬無一失
• belt out    高聲歌唱, 起勁地說
• Belt up    繫腰帶, 繫安全帶, 別說話, 請安靜
• to belt up    繫腰帶, 繫安全帶, 別說話, 請安靜
• under one's belt    在胃中

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 벨트, 지대
v. tr. - ~에 띠를 감다, ~을 둘러싸다, 후려치다

idioms:

• belt out    때려 눕히다, 힘차게 노래 부르다
• Belt up    조용히 해
• to belt up    무례하게 하고 있는 말을 끊고 ~의 얘기를 하다
• under one's belt    뱃속에 넣고(먹고 마시고), 소지하고

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - ベルト, バンド, 帯, 地帯
v. - ベルトで締める, 皮帯で打つ, 殴る

idioms:

• belt and braces    ベルトとズボン吊り, 二重の安全対策
• belt out    大声で元気よく歌う, 大音量で鳴らす
• belt up    ベルトを締める, 静かにする
• belt up!    ベルトを締める, 静かにする
• commuter belt    通勤圏
• tighten one's belt    耐乏生活をする, バンドを締める, 食わずに済ます, 切り詰めて生活する

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) حزام, نطاق (فعل) ضرب, جلد, سير, ربط بنطاق‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮חגורה, רצועה, איזור‬
v. tr. - ‮היכה, הילקה, חגר‬

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