seat belt
Americannoun
noun
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Also called: safety belt. a belt or strap worn in a vehicle to restrain forward motion in the event of a collision
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a similar belt or strap worn in an aircraft at takeoff and landing and in rough weather
Etymology
Origin of seat belt
First recorded in 1945–50
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.
The chairs are often dozens of feet off the ground, so the experience of riding without the bar down can feel like flying through the air on a park bench — with no seat belt.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 11, 2026
Rivian is recalling 34,824 vehicles for a damaged seat belt pretensioner cable, representing a significant portion of its total sales.
From Barron's • Dec. 3, 2025
You are in the passenger seat with no seat belt, and the dashboard lights are blinking like they’re trying to tell you something in Morse code, which you never learned.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 2, 2025
But new laws and public information campaigns changed those norms, so that buckling your seat belt is now routine.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 2, 2025
Ray doesn’t turn on the truck or put on his seat belt.
From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko
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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.