black belt

American  

[blak belt] / ˈblæk ˌbɛlt /

noun

1. Martial Arts.

   1. a black cloth waistband conferred upon a participant in one of the martial arts, as judo or karate, to indicate a degree of expertise of the highest rank.

   2. a person who has obtained such rank

   3. the rank itself.

2. a person proficient in some particular skill or endeavor; expert.

3. (initial capital letters) a narrow belt of dark-colored, calcareous soils in central Alabama and Mississippi highly adapted to agriculture, especially the growing of cotton.

4. (initial capital letters) the area of a city or region inhabited primarily by Black people.

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black belt British  

noun

1. martial arts

   1. a black belt worn by an instructor or expert competitor in the dan grades, usually from first to fifth dan

   2. a person entitled to wear this

2. a region of the southern US extending from Georgia across central Alabama and Mississippi, in which the population contains a large number of Black people: also noted for its fertile black soil

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Other Word Forms

• black-belt adjective

Etymology

Origin of black belt

First recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

Yumnam Khemchand Singh, a fifth-dan black belt in Korean martial art taekwondo, took oath last week, inheriting a state still scarred by clashes between the majority Meitei and the minority Kuki-Zo communities.

From BBC • Feb. 10, 2026

Ver is clean-cut and fit — he has a black belt in Brazilian jujitsu.

From Salon • Jan. 23, 2026

The two are seasoned martial artists — she’s a third-degree black belt in Seido karate and he’s practiced karate, boxing and Muay Thai kickboxing since he was a teenager.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 1, 2026

And 60-year-old Tamar Springer, a black belt whose mother, overwhelmed by the stress of losing her longtime home, died three weeks after the blaze.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 3, 2025

But it was only the year before that he had become a first-grade Dan, a black belt.

From "Stormbreaker" by Anthony Horowitz