belt
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belt
A strip made of leather, fabric, or another material that is worn around the waist to hold clothing, usually trousers or skirts, or as a fashion accessory.
Meine Hose ist zu weit, ich brauche einen Gürtel.
My trousers are too loose; I need a belt.
The idiom 'den Gürtel enger schnallen müssen' means that you have to save money and get by with less. It is used figuratively and has nothing to do with clothing.
Seit er seinen Job verloren hat, muss die ganze Familie den Gürtel enger schnallen.
Since he lost his job, the whole family has had to tighten their belts.
In connection with the item of clothing, verbs such as 'tragen' (to wear), 'anlegen' (to put on), 'umschnallen' (to strap on), or 'zumachen' (to fasten) are often used.
Er trug einen eleganten Ledergürtel zu seiner Jeans.
He wore an elegant leather belt with his jeans.
In the geographical meaning, 'Gürtel' is often part of compound nouns. Well-known examples are 'der Grüngürtel' (a green belt around a city) or 'der Speckgürtel' (the wealthy suburbs around a large city).
Am Wochenende fahren viele Familien zum Spazieren in den Grüngürtel.
On the weekend, many families go for a walk in the green belt.
You can always recognize this meaning from the context of 'Kampfsport' (martial arts), e.g. karate or judo. Usually the belt is mentioned together with a color that indicates the athlete's rank.
Sie hat jahrelang trainiert, um den schwarzen Gürtel in Karate zu bekommen.
She trained for years to get the black belt in karate.
ribbon / band
'das Band' and 'der Gürtel' can both be a long, narrow strip of material. However, 'das Band' is more general: you can use it to tie, decorate, or fasten something. It can be made of fabric, plastic, or metal. 'der Gürtel' is a specific kind of band worn around the waist, usually to hold up trousers or a skirt. Learners may confuse the words because a belt looks like a band. But for clothing at the waist, you normally say 'Gürtel', not 'Band'.
Zum Anzug trägt Herr Schneider einen schwarzen Gürtel.
Mr. Schneider wears a black belt with his suit.
Für das Geschenk bindet Lena ein rotes Band um die Schachtel.
For the gift, Lena ties a red ribbon around the box.