Belt Meaning
/ˈbɛlt/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA 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.
nounA band used as a restraint for safety purposes, such as a seat belt.
Sentence Examples
Please make certain your seat belt is fastened.
Fasten your seat belt when you drive.
CEFR Practice Quiz
He tightened his leather ____ to keep his trousers from falling.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He tightened his leather ____ after he finished his very large meal today.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English belt, from Old English belt (“belt, girdle”), from Proto-West Germanic *baltī̆, from Proto-Germanic *baltijaz (“girdle, belt”), from Latin balteus (“belt, sword-belt”), of Etruscan origin. Cognate with Scots belt (“belt”), Dutch belt, German Balz (“belt”), Danish bælte (“belt”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk belte (“belt”), Swedish bälte (“belt, cincture, girdle, zone”), Faroese and Icelandic belti (“belt”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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:
"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:
"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:
"Bobby belting the ball"
— 1996, “Three Lions”, performed by David Baddiel and Frank Skinner:
Explore More A2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
He tightened his leather ____ to keep his trousers from falling.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He tightened his leather ____ after he finished his very large meal today.