How do you use the word "waist" in a sentence?

Here are real-life examples of using "waist": The waist is a little small. The boy was naked to the waist.

Waist Meaning

/weɪst/

Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

Definition

nounThe part of the body between the pelvis and the stomach.

nounA part of a piece of clothing that covers the waist.

Sentence Examples

The waist is a little small.

The boy was naked to the waist.

This is a little bit too loose around my waist.

CEFR Practice Quiz

She tied the belt tightly around her ____ to make the dress fit better.

CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)

He fastened the leather belt tightly around his ____ before he started his work in the local garden today.

Word Origin & History

Inherited from Middle English wast (“waist”), probably from Old English *wæst, *wǣst, *weaxt, *wæhst, from Proto-West Germanic *wahstu, from Proto-Germanic *wahstuz (“growth, development, stature, build”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂weks- (“to multiply, increase”). Cognate with Middle English wacste (“growth, increase, might, power”), Middle High German wahst (“growth”), Danish vækst (“growth”), Swedish växt (“growth, development, size”), Icelandic vöxtur (“growth”), Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌷𐍃𐍄𐌿𐍃 (wahstus, “growth”). Related to Old English weaxan (“to grow, increase”). More at wax.

Literary Quotations & Historical Citations

"There he stood, very quietly overlooking some sailmakers who were mending a top-sail in the waist." — 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “chapter 18”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:

"In the dead vast and middle of the night" — c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:

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