black belt

1 of 2

noun (1)

: one who holds the rating of expert in various arts of self-defense (such as judo and karate)

also : the rating itself

black belt

2 of 2

noun (2)

ˈblak-ˌbelt 

1

: an area characterized by rich black soil

2

often capitalized both Bs : an area densely populated by Black people

The story of civil rights in Tuskegee is also a study in ambiguity, for it is a history at once unusual and typical of the Southern black belt.

—Jim Haskins

Examples of black belt in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The floor-length dress and thin black belt that sat gently below the bust hugged her baby bump. —Hannah Sacks, People.com, 4 Feb. 2025

That fight marked Woodley’s last successful title defense and earned him a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt. —Brian Mazique, Forbes, 18 Jan. 2025

The former West Wing adviser wore a Dior dark forest green skirt suit with a thin black belt and a coordinating beret-style hat to the Inauguration ceremony at the U.S. Capitol’s rotunda. —Rosemary Feitelberg, WWD, 22 Jan. 2025

First daughter Ivanka Trump turned up for the inauguration looking chic and impeccably pulled together in a forest green skirt suit, cinched with a thin black belt, and a matching green hat. —Ingrid Schmidt, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1911, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1832, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Kids Definition

black belt

noun

: one holding the rating of expert especially in various arts of self-defense (as karate)

also : the rating itself

Geographical Definition

Black Belt

geographical name

strip of rolling prairie land extending across central Alabama and Mississippi with fertile black clayey soil formerly notable for the production of cotton