rust belt

American

noun

(sometimes initial capital letters)

the heavily industrial area of the northeastern U.S. containing the older industries and factories.

rust belt British

noun

an area where heavy industry is in decline, esp in the Midwest of the US

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of rust belt

First recorded in 1980–85

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.

See Examples For:

rust belt

Springfield, a rust belt city in south-west Ohio, is home to about 60,000 people and has seen thousands of immigrants arrive in recent years.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2024

It also includes the industrial rust belt of the upper Midwest and the cowboy swagger of Texas.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 26, 2024

Those going home varied, with the well-developed east seeing the highest percentage of 59% versus 44% in the west and 24% in the northeast rust belt.

From Reuters ● Aug. 9, 2023

By definition, President Biden's initiatives to help rust belt and rural America are "newsworthy."

From Salon ● Feb. 21, 2023

Located an hour and a half drive from the Russian border in Ukraine’s southeastern rust belt, it was a modernizing industrial city of about a million people that was somehow still quiet and welcoming.

From New York Times ● Feb. 26, 2022

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023