gird

¹ American  

[gurd] / gɜrd /

verb (used with object)

girded, girt, girding

1. to encircle or bind with a belt or band.

2. to surround; enclose; hem in.

3. to prepare (oneself ) for action.

   He girded himself for the trial ahead.

   Synonyms:

   strengthen, fortify, steel, brace

4. to provide, equip, or invest, as with power or strength.

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gird ² American  

[gurd] / gɜrd /

verb (used without object)

1. to gibe; jeer (usually followed byat ).

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verb (used with object)

1. to gibe or jeer at; taunt.

noun

1. a gibe.

gird ¹ British  

/ ɡɜːd /

verb

1. to jeer (at someone); mock

2. (tr) to strike (a blow at someone)

3. (intr) to move at high speed

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noun

1. 1. a blow or stroke

   2. a taunt; gibe

2. a display of bad temper or anger (esp in the phrases in a gird; throw a gird )

gird ² British  

/ ɡɜːd /

verb

1. to put a belt, girdle, etc, around (the waist or hips)

2. to bind or secure with or as if with a belt

   to gird on one's armour

3. to surround; encircle

4. to prepare (oneself) for action (esp in the phrase gird ( up ) one's loins )

5. to endow with a rank, attribute, etc, esp knighthood

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gird ³ British  

/ ɡɪrd /

noun

1. Also: girr.  a hoop, esp a child's hoop

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Other Word Forms

• girdingly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of gird¹

before 950; Middle English girden, Old English gyrdan; cognate with German gürten

Origin of gird²

1175–1225; Middle English gyrd a stroke, blow, hence a cutting remark, derivative of girden to strike, smite < ?

Explanation

"Gird your loins and prepare for battle!" Okay, no one says "gird your loins" anymore (which basically means "tighten your pants"), but gird is still used as a verb to mean "get ready for a dangerous situation." To gird is to prepare for a military attack, but more loosely it refers to readying oneself for any kind of confrontation. When you gird for something, you are preparing for the worst-case scenario. Gird can also mean "fasten something tightly with a belt or a band" (as in "gird your loins"), or it can mean "to surround or encircle." A field that is girded by trees is surrounded and encircled by trees.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gird girded girding girt

For Jones and his salvation army it's a day to gird the loins and fight back.

From BBC ● Feb. 11, 2026

Doing so would help investors gird against volatility that might follow.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 15, 2026

But such extreme conditions are rare and individual homeowners can take steps to gird themselves against more-common wildfires.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2025

Or should Britons gird themselves for the passing of another sovereign?

From New York Times ● Feb. 6, 2024

‘At least we may yet be avenged. Let us gird ourselves and weep no more! Come! We have a long road, and much to do.’

From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien

Meanwhile, China’s leaders don’t want to be a junior partner to the West and have girded the economy to be more self-reliant.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026

Tynecastle rubbed its eyes and then girded its loins.

From BBC ● Jan. 25, 2026

Meanwhile, both nations have girded themselves for a lengthy confrontation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2025

European shares closed higher, led higher by mining stocks as investors girded themselves for the U.S.

From Reuters ● Sep. 11, 2023

The greatest reward of this constant interrogation, of confrontation with the brutality of my country, is that it has freed me from ghosts and girded me against the sheer terror of disembodiment.

From "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates

While software stocks on the list like Zoom, Okta and the Trade Desk have strong numbers, they are girding for a widely expected battle with AI.

From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026

With daylight-saving time set to begin this Sunday, Americans will once again be girding themselves for the “spring forward” ritual of setting their clocks an hour ahead and potentially losing some sleep.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 6, 2026

After about 25 minutes he clambered back aboard the ship, girding for another long voyage the rest of the way across the ocean.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 23, 2026

USC has also been girding for decreases in international student enrollment.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2025

Cora imagined the posses massing in the woods, girding themselves for a dash into the field.

From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead

And at the center is Finland, a country of just 5.4 million people, girt by the sea and lashed by the wind.

From The New Yorker ● May 12, 2015

To prevent injury or death in case of such a mishap the 20-lb. rotor is girt by an 800-lb. steel shell, 5 in. thick.

From Time Magazine Archive

Chemistry feels that it owes much to Pittsburgh's Mellon Institute of Industrial Research which will soon move into a huge, classic building girt by tall pillars.

From Time Magazine Archive

Thus girt with logic, Leon Henderson still had no price weapon last week.

From Time Magazine Archive

He stood up and cast open his long black cloak, and behold! he was clad in mail beneath, and girt with a long sword, great-hilted in a sheath of black and silver.

From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien

Related Words

• brace