hit below the belt
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
to unfairly criticize or attack someone's weak point
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
Phê bình hoặc tấn công điểm yếu của ai đó một cách không công bằng
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Literally: to punch below the belt in boxing
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
The politician was accused of hitting below the belt during the debate
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “hit below the belt” mean?
to unfairly criticize or attack someone's weak point Literally: to punch below the belt in boxing
Is “hit below the belt” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.