girdle
girdle — noun
- girdlesingular
- girdlesplural
1. a tight undergarment worn by women that fits around the middle of the body in or
a tight undergarment worn by women that fits around the middle of the body in order to shape the figure
Amelia bought a new girdle to wear under her silk evening dress for the wedding.
collocation: wear under + clothing
After the surgery, the nurse helped Rachid's mother put on a supportive girdle.
medical use after surgery
Cyrus found an old-fashioned girdle with metal stays at a vintage clothing shop.
Élise said the elastic girdle was much more comfortable than the stiff old one.
- corset
a stricter, often boned undergarment that covers from the chest to the hips; girdle is typically lighter and only covers the waist and hips
2. a strip of fabric or hide tied around the middle of the body, used to hold up tr
a strip of fabric or hide tied around the middle of the body, used to hold up trousers or skirts, or worn simply for ornament
The monk tied a simple cloth girdle around his brown woollen robe.
traditional or religious garment
Ilan fastened a wide leather girdle around his coat before going outside into the cold.
Dewi admired the silver buckle on the medieval knight's girdle at the history museum.
Gita wrapped a colourful silk girdle around the waist of her traditional dance costume.
3. something that goes all the way around another thing, forming a complete circle
something that goes all the way around another thing, forming a complete circle like a band
A thick girdle of pine trees surrounded the small lake near Minho's village.
girdle of + natural feature
Mathieu pointed at the old stone wall that formed a girdle around the entire town.
Camila's garden was protected by a dense girdle of tall bamboo plants.
A green girdle of parks and bicycle paths circled the city centre where Mayumi lived.
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1 and 2: here girdle refers to any encircling band of material or landscape, not a piece of clothing.
4. the ring-shaped set of bones that connects your arms or legs to the main part of
the ring-shaped set of bones that connects your arms or legs to the main part of your body
The shoulder girdle connects the arms to the ribcage and allows a wide range of motion.
anatomical term: shoulder girdle
Esme drew the pelvic girdle in her biology notebook and carefully labelled each bone.
anatomical term: pelvic girdle
Fractures in the shoulder girdle can take several weeks of rest to heal properly.
Rachid compared a bird's pelvic girdle with a human one for his anatomy class project.
用法筆記
Almost always used in the phrases 'shoulder girdle' or 'pelvic girdle'. The word 'girdle' alone in an anatomy context usually refers to one of these two structures.
常見錯誤
girdle — verb
- girdlepresent simple I / you / we / they
- girdles3rd person singular
- girdling-ing form
- girdledpast simple
1. to go all the way around something, forming a ring around it
to go all the way around something, forming a ring around it
Tall hedges girdle the garden on three sides, creating a quiet private space.
passive-like: [thing] girdles [place]
The new bicycle path will girdle the whole lake and give walkers a scenic route.
Ancient stone walls still girdle the old quarter of the city where Ilan grew up.
A narrow canal girdles the palace grounds and keeps unwanted visitors away.
用法筆記
Frequently used in the passive form ('girdled by', 'girdled with'). This is a formal or literary word; in everyday English 'surround' or 'encircle' is more common.