1. 1. A belt or sash worn around the waist.
   2. Something that encircles like a belt.
   3. An elasticized, flexible undergarment worn over the waist and hips, especially by women, to give the body a more slender appearance.
2. A band made around the trunk of a tree by the removal of a strip of bark.
3. The edge of a cut gem held by the setting.
4. Anatomy. The pelvic or pectoral girdle.

1. To encircle with or as if with a belt. See synonyms at surround.
2. To circle around: a ring of hills that girdled the city.
3. To remove a band of bark and cambium from the circumference of (a tree), usually in order to kill it.

[Middle English girdel, from Old English gyrdel.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.