Rust Belt
9
4.9
- noun
- /rʌst bɛlt/
- US
:
Cinturón de óxido
- So many of them really need to get out of the Rust Belt and get a larger perspective.
- Rust Belt cities
JD was quickly deemed the voice of the Rust Belt.
- JD was quickly deemed the voice of the Rust Belt.
- Joe flipped states in the sunbelt and the Rust Belt.
- I flew with him on Air Force One to Youngstown, OH, Youngstown is the Rust Belt.
- They're the states with their bits of Rust Belt and some bits of renewal.
- It's very appealing to that whole Rust Belt situation or Rust Belt states.
- So those, those Rust Belt places, people ignored them, right?
- The Midwest is, you know, is beyond the Rust Belt.
- I would rather play anywhere in the Rust Belt than anywhere LA and down.
- And it is one of the great Rust Belt, you know, sore spots in in the landscape.
Examples
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Just like the steel industry started as a boom and ended in the Rust Belt, all technologies have a cycle.
Blog text (1) -
Still, Obama faces difficulties of his own in this Rust Belt swing state.
Blog text (3) -
Last I heard, it's the only city in this rust-belt state that continues to grow.
Blog text (18) -
It's these states, OK, the Rust Belt states.
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A second example from our research concerns three schools in a northern Rust Belt city that are all connected to each other.
Academic text (2005) -
The other issue is that Rust Belt money would be largely sent to states that need it much less.
Blog text (11) -
Roger and Me is, in my mind, the definitive window into the Rust Belt.
Blog text (27) -
In smaller cities, like Battle Creek, and in any of the Rust Belt towns, there is blight.
Blog text (27) -
Edgewood is located just outside a major Rust Belt post-industrial city.
Academic text (2015) -
The economic challenges in the Rust Belt have led to many factories closing down.
Synonyms
1
6.7
A region in the northeastern and midwestern United States where many factories closed and jobs were lost
Antonyms
- US
2
3.6
A warm part of the southern and southwestern United States that attracts people and businesses
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound combines 'rust' (corrosion/decay) with 'belt' (a band or region), so an English learner who knows the constituents can infer it labels an area marked by decay—in this case industrial decline. However, it is a conventionalized, metaphorical place-name tied to specific US geography and historical context, so learners may grasp the general idea but not the full, culturally specific meaning without exposure.
Etymology
The name Rust Belt likely comes from the picture of old factories and machines covered in rust, with belt used to mean a long area that reaches across several states. That's why it now means 'a region of old factories and declining industry'.