black belt: Meaning and Definition of

black belt

Pronunciation: (blak' belt" for 1, 2 blak' belt', belt" for 3, 4), [key]
  1. (caps.) a narrow belt of dark-colored, calcareous soils in central Alabama and Mississippi highly adapted to agriculture, esp. the growing of cotton.
  2. the area of a city or region inhabited primarily by blacks.
    1. a black cloth waistband conferred upon a participant in one of the martial arts, as judo or karate, to indicate a degree of expertise of the highest rank.
    2. a person who has obtained such rank.
    3. the rank itself. Cf. brown belt, white belt.
  3. a person proficient in some particular skill or endeavor; expert.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.