waist

waist
    n 1: the narrowing of the body between the ribs and hips [syn:
         {waist}, {waistline}]
    2: the narrow part of the shoe connecting the heel and the wide
       part of the sole [syn: {shank}, {waist}]
    

Waist \Waist\, n. [OE. wast; originally, growth, akin to AS.
   weaxan to grow; cf. AS. w[ae]stm growth. See {Wax} to grow.]
   [1913 Webster]
   1. That part of the human body which is immediately below the
      ribs or thorax; the small part of the body between the
      thorax and hips. --Chaucer.
      [1913 Webster]

            I am in the waist two yards about.    --Shak.
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   2. Hence, the middle part of other bodies; especially
      (Naut.), that part of a vessel's deck, bulwarks, etc.,
      which is between the quarter-deck and the forecastle; the
      middle part of the ship.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. A garment, or part of a garment, which covers the body
      from the neck or shoulders to the waist line.
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   4. A girdle or belt for the waist. [Obs.] --Shak.
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   {Waist anchor}. See {Sheet anchor}, 1, in the Vocabulary.
      [1913 Webster]
    

26 Moby Thesaurus words for "waist":
      blouse, bodice, center, core, corsage, diameter, diaphragm, dickey,
      equator, heart, interior, kernel, linen, mean, median, middle,
      midmost, midriff, midst, nucleus, shift, shirt, thick,
      thick of things, waistline, zone