girdle

Universal Words noun, verb noun 1 a piece of women's underwear that fits closely around the body from the waist to the THIGH, designed to make a woman look thinner 2 (literary) a thing that surrounds sth else: carefully tended lawns set in a girdle of trees 3 (old-fashioned) a belt or thick string fastened around the waist to keep clothes in position verb [VN] (literary) to surround sth: A chain of volcanoes girdles the Pacific.