black belt
Americannoun
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Martial Arts.
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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.
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a person who has obtained such rank
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the rank itself.
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a person proficient in some particular skill or endeavor; expert.
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(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.
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(initial capital letters) the area of a city or region inhabited primarily by Black people.
noun
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martial arts
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a black belt worn by an instructor or expert competitor in the dan grades, usually from first to fifth dan
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a person entitled to wear this
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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
Other Word Forms
- black-belt adjective
Etymology
Origin of black belt
First recorded in 1865–70
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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
He’s a charming Aussie surfer who plays videogames and has a black belt in jujitsu.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 5, 2025
A sixth-degree black belt, Norton also created the Richard Norton Brazilian Jiujitsu Assn., which helped bring the martial art to various clubs and organizations across South Wales, Australia and to Norris’ United Fighting Arts Federation.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 31, 2025
He is a martial artist with a black belt in karate.
From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
