I. belt 1 S2 W3 /belt/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Language: Old English ]
1 . a band of leather, cloth etc that you wear around your waist to hold up your clothes or for decoration:
He unbuckled his leather belt.
2 . a large area of land that has particular features or where particular people live:
America’s farming belt
the green (=countryside) belt British English
⇨ ↑ green belt
3 . a circular band of something such as rubber that connects or moves parts of a machine ⇨ ↑ conveyor belt , ↑ fan belt
4 . below the belt informal unfair or cruel:
That was a bit below the belt, Paul.
The comments hit below the belt (=they were unfair or cruel) .
5 . have something under your belt to have achieved something useful or important:
a secretary with several years’ experience under her belt
6 . belt and braces British English informal a belt and braces way of doing something is one in which you do more than necessary in order to make sure that it succeeds
⇨ ↑ black belt , ↑ garter belt , ↑ safety belt , ↑ seat belt , ↑ suspender belt , ⇨ tighten your belt at ↑ tighten (6)
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COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 2)
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + belt
▪ a wide belt
Along the coast is a wide belt of sand dunes.
▪ a narrow belt
The tree grows in a narrow belt around the western Mediterranean.
▪ the green belt British English (=land around a city where building is not allowed)
the government's commitment to protecting the green belt
▪ a mountain belt (=a long and wide area of mountains)
mountain belts such as the Himalayas
▪ a coastal belt (=land along the coast)
The wide coastal belt is a flat plain, partially wooded.
▪ an industrial belt (=where there are a lot of factories etc)
the northern industrial belt of the United States
▪ the corn/cotton/wheat belt (=where corn/cotton etc is grown)
Western Australia's wheat belt
▪ the commuter belt British English (=an area around a large city from where people travel to work in the city every day)
House prices are high in the London commuter belt.
▪ the stockbroker belt British English (=an area around a city where rich people who work in the city live)
wealthy families living in the stockbroker belt
II. belt 2 BrE AmE verb
1 . HIT [transitive] informal to hit someone or something hard:
Dan belted the ball towards the goal.
2 . GO QUICKLY [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] British English spoken to go somewhere very fast SYN charge
belt down/along etc
We were belting down the motorway at 95 miles per hour.
3 . FASTEN [transitive] to fasten something with a belt:
Maria belted her raincoat firmly.
a dress belted loosely at the waist
belt something ↔ out phrasal verb
to sing a song or play an instrument loudly:
She was belting out old Broadway favourites.
belt up phrasal verb British English
1 . spoken used to tell someone rudely to be quiet
2 . informal to fasten your ↑ seat belt in a vehicle