under (one's) belt
1. In one's scope of experience. Once you get a few more major league games under your belt, you'll feel more comfortable. I'll feel much more comfortable letting you lead the team once you've had a few more years in the office under your belt.
2. Ingested or consumed. He should be less cranky after he gets some food under his belt.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
under one's belt
Experienced or achieved, as in Once a medical student has anatomy under her belt, she'll have much less to memorize. This metaphoric expression likens food that has been consumed to an experience that has been digested. [Colloquial; first half of 1800s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
under one's belt
A successful past experience. The term alludes to food that has been consumed, likening it to experience that has been digested. P. G. Wodehouse used it figuratively (Encounter, 1954): “Just as you have got Hamlet and Macbeth under your belt.”
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer