waist

CEFRB1

/weɪst/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    The middle part of the body between the ribs and hips.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

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

Examples

  • The boy was naked to the waist.

  • This is a little bit too loose around my waist.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
2

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. The narrow connection between the thorax and abdomen in certain insects (e.g., bees, ants and wasps).

  2. The part of the body between the pelvis and the stomach.

  3. The middle portion of the hull of a ship or the fuselage of an aircraft.

More examples

In context

  • The waist is a little small.

  • The waist of a bell widens into the lip.

  • There he stood, very quietly overlooking some sailmakers who were mending a top-sail in the waist.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

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

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

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.