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Under one's belt

Idiomatic Phrase
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

An idiomatic phrase meaning to have achieved, experienced, or accomplished something, often referring to skills, milestones, or life lessons gained and retained as personal assets.

Detailed Definition
Under one's belt means acquired, achieved, experienced, or successfully completed. In poetry, the idiom makes experience something held close to the body, almost digested or stored as strength. A speaker may have journeys, poems, battles, exams, losses, or years under their belt. The phrase can suggest confidence gained through practice, but also the burden of accumulated history. A poet may use it in coming-of-age, craft, travel, or survival poems to show how experience becomes part of the self.
Example
Example in poetry:
A coming-of-age poem might say the apprentice has three hard winters under his belt; In a craft poem, a poet with many sonnets under her belt begins to trust silence too; The phrase means having gained experience or completed something; A poet can use it for confidence earned over time.
Additional Notes
Under one’s belt means achieved, completed, experienced, or safely acquired. The idiom makes accomplishment bodily, as though knowledge or success has been digested and carried close. In poetry, it can describe journeys, exams, battles, songs, loves, or hardships that become part of the self. Students should note its practical tone: experience is not abstract but accumulated. It pairs well with meals, tools, notches, roads, and growing confidence.
Also Known As
experienced
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