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

That unaffected authenticity helps gird us for the quietly complicated tale “Union County” has to tell.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

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

The state’s public transportation agency, NJ Transit, scrapped plans for a similar backup plant last month in nearby Kearny, saying resiliency improvements to the electrical gird made the project unnecessary.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 4, 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

Harris said that while she accepted the election results, she refused to concede the fight for freedom, opportunity and fairness that girded her campaign.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2024

Little wonder some of them are exploring legal options to prevent the circumvention of an auction process they had girded themselves for.

From BBC ● Nov. 20, 2023

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

From Reuters ● Sep. 11, 2023

As they approach he sees that after a certain expanse the yard falls away, and then he sees the lake, a blue a thousand times deeper, more brilliant, than the sky and girded by pines.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri

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

Discovery, you might want to turn your attention east — to Europe, where regulators are girding to take an early look at any such deal.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 16, 2025

I turned on the stool to face her, girding myself.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

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

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

Within two years, he declared, the British Empire will have scrapped her historic free trade policy, girt herself with a tariff wall against U. S. and even European competition.

From Time Magazine Archive

Fellow passengers took small note of the droopy, bedraggled mustache, the old fashioned spectacles, the somewhat scrawny neck girt by a casual tie.

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