girdle

1. 1.

   an encircling or ringlike structure

   Broaderskeletal structure

   Narrowerpectoral girdlepelvis
2. 2.

   a band of material around the waist that strengthens a skirt or trousers

   Synonymscincturesashwaistbandwaistcloth

   Broaderband

   Narrowercummerbund
3. 3.

   a woman's close-fitting foundation garment

   Synonymscorsetstays

   Broaderfoundation garment

   Narrowerpanty girdle

1. 1.

   cut a girdle around so as to kill by interrupting the circulation of water and nutrients

   “girdle the plant”

   Synonymsdeaden

   Broaderincise

   plant

2. 2.

   put a girdle on or around

   “gird your loins”

   Synonymsgird

   Broadersurround

Other forms of girdle

plural

girdles·

past tense

girdled·

present participle

girdling·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about girdle

What does girdle mean?

girdle means "an encircling or ringlike structure". That is the primary sense; the word has 5 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in girdle?

girdle has 2 syllables: gir-dle. The stress falls on "gir". In IPA it is /ˈɡɝdəl/.

What is another word for girdle?

Close synonyms include cincture, sash, waistband, waistcloth, corset. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is girdle a common word?

girdle is banded "Familiar" — widely understood, used when the subject calls for it. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.