gird
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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to encircle or bind with a belt or band.
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to surround; enclose; hem in.
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to prepare (oneself ) for action.
He girded himself for the trial ahead.
- Synonyms:
- strengthen, fortify, steel, brace
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to provide, equip, or invest, as with power or strength.
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
verb
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to jeer (at someone); mock
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(tr) to strike (a blow at someone)
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(intr) to move at high speed
noun
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a blow or stroke
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a taunt; gibe
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a display of bad temper or anger (esp in the phrases in a gird; throw a gird )
verb
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to put a belt, girdle, etc, around (the waist or hips)
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to bind or secure with or as if with a belt
to gird on one's armour
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to surround; encircle
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to prepare (oneself) for action (esp in the phrase gird ( up ) one's loins )
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to endow with a rank, attribute, etc, esp knighthood
noun
Other Word Forms
- girdingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of gird1
before 950; Middle English girden, Old English gyrdan; cognate with German gürten
Origin of gird2
1175–1225; Middle English gyrd a stroke, blow, hence a cutting remark, derivative of girden to strike, smite < ?
Explanation
"Gird your loins and prepare for battle!" Okay, no one says "gird your loins" anymore (which basically means "tighten your pants"), but gird is still used as a verb to mean "get ready for a dangerous situation." To gird is to prepare for a military attack, but more loosely it refers to readying oneself for any kind of confrontation. When you gird for something, you are preparing for the worst-case scenario. Gird can also mean "fasten something tightly with a belt or a band" (as in "gird your loins"), or it can mean "to surround or encircle." A field that is girded by trees is surrounded and encircled by trees.
Vocabulary lists containing gird
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 19–24
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "G"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
For Jones and his salvation army it's a day to gird the loins and fight back.
From BBC • Feb. 11, 2026
Doing so would help investors gird against volatility that might follow.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 15, 2026
Or should Britons gird themselves for the passing of another sovereign?
From New York Times • Feb. 6, 2024
He has partnered with lawmakers across the aisle on legislation such as funding for health facilities for Native Americans and to improve energy infrastructure to gird for extreme weather events.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 8, 2022
‘At least we may yet be avenged. Let us gird ourselves and weep no more! Come! We have a long road, and much to do.’
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.