[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/waist.html)

[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/) / [The school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/) / waist

[← W](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/W/)

# waist

«waist» in Mova's school dictionary: **the middle part of your body, between your ribs and your…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (waist, waists)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Your waist is the middle part of your body, between your ribs and your hips, usually the narrowest part, where a belt goes. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/waist/#m1)

2) The waist of a piece of clothing is the part that goes around your waist. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/waist/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

Everyday life: trousers and skirts fit at the waist; in swimming lessons and at the beach, «waist-deep» water reaches your middle — a good guide for safety, because moving water can knock you over even at that depth. In science, measuring the waist with a tape measure is a maths activity (centimetres or inches). Phrases: around the waist, waist-deep, waistband, waistcoat, waist size.

### examples

- She tied a ribbon around her waist. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/waist/#x1)
- The water was waist-deep, so we stayed close to the shore. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/waist/#x2)
- These jeans are too big at the waist. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/waist/#x3)
- Put your hands on your waist and bend to the side. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/waist/#x4)
- Measure your waist with a tape measure. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/waist/#x5)
- The dancer bent at the waist and bowed. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/waist/#x6)
- She clasped little Gerda round the waist, and said,-- [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/waist/#x7)

### note

Countable: waists. Homophone trap: «waist» (body part) sounds exactly like «waste» (rubbish, or to use badly) — «Don't waste food» vs «my waist». A «waistcoat» (UK) is a «vest» in the USA.

### In the corpora

- ["Love handles" is a joking name for fat around the waist.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/10-weight-and-babies/8/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «waist» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/waist/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.