Definition of "belay" [be•lay]

• Nautical To secure or make fast (a rope, for example) by winding on a cleat or pin. (verb-transitive)
• To secure (a mountain climber, for example) at the end of a length of rope. (verb-transitive)
• To cause to stop. (verb-transitive)
• To be made secure. (verb-intransitive)
• Used in the imperative as an order to stop: Belay there! (verb-intransitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Preferred primary anchor into a belay is a clove hitch or bite8 on the powerpoint - I prefer a clove for adjustability, sometimes using a purcell prusik as a second method to adjust my attitude to the anchor."
• "Yet quite often such words, when they are verbs, were once of the common stock of the language, as in the case of "belay," and it has happened that the sailor alone has been left to keep them alive."
• "In comes the rope with a "Yo! heave ho!" and a jerk, until the "belay" sung out by the mate signifies that the work is done."