black belt

See also: blackbelt

English

Etymology

Calque of Japanese 黒帯 (kuroobi)

Noun

black belt (plural black belts)

1. (martial arts) The highest belt colour in various martial arts.

   Synonym: dan

2. (martial arts) Someone who has attained the black belt in martial arts.

   Synonym: dan

   Raymond is a black belt in karate.

3. (figurative, colloquial) Great skill in any field.
4. (management) A senior manager who is expert in one of various management systems such as Six Sigma or DMAIC and acts in a project leader or mentor role.
   • 2011, Bob Paladino, Five Key Principles of Corporate Performance Management, →ISBN:

     I had the good fortune of being engaged to participate as a trainer to GE Capital Corporation, where we helped to launch their now well-known and highly regarded black belt program.

5. (US, southern) A geographic region where the residents are predominantly or exclusively African-American.
   • 1992, Hanes Walton, The Native Son Presidential Candidate: The Carter Vote in Georgia, →ISBN, page 5:

     Bernard Cosman found that in Georgia, it was the black belt whites who gave Goldwater his largest percentage of the vote.

Translations

highest belt color in various martial arts

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 黑帶／黑带 (hēidài), 黑带 (hēidài)

• Finnish: musta vyö
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• French: ceinture noire (fr) f
• Japanese: 黒帯 (くろおび, kuroobi)

person who has attained the black belt

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 黑帶／黑带 (hēidài), 黑带 (hēidài)

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Finnish: not used in Finnish (instead say jollakulla on musta vyö "someone has a black belt")
• French: ceinture noire (fr) f