How to Use belay in a Sentence

belay

1 of 2 verb
  • The climber belayed the rope.
  • Three took off at any one time, belayed by their successors, in lanes marked with red and white tape.
    — Simon Akam, Outside Online, 27 Nov. 2019
  • Half of each rover would anchor to the rim, then belay its partner down to the main lander on the crater floor.
    — Chris Wright, Wired, 15 June 2021
  • While one person climbs, another waits below (or above) and belays them.
    — Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 23 Jan. 2024
  • Will his lethal scoring ability and elite hockey sense be enough to belay those concerns?
    — Richard Morin, azcentral, 20 June 2019
  • The class finished with the auto belay, a machine that belays for solo climbers.
    — Kara Carlson, The Seattle Times, 12 July 2017
  • The follower has to climb and remove gear from the wall while also belaying the leader.
    — Grayson Schaffer, Outside Online, 26 Nov. 2019
  • Rope is looped around metal dowels called belaying pins that sit in a horizontal steel bar called a pin rail.
    — John Kelly, Washington Post, 26 June 2017
  • Like rock climbing, the sport entails a rope system — known as belaying — but differs in substantive ways.
    — Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 23 Jan. 2024
  • Sport climbing involves climbing heights of 40 feet or higher with a rope and belaying partner.
    — Jen Murphy, WSJ, 26 Jan. 2019
  • This heavier duty paracord can come in handy for suspending heavy items in trees, belaying a person, or hauling something with your truck.
    — Tom Price, Popular Mechanics, 30 Aug. 2023
  • Trying to climb tougher grades should be a part of your efforts to improve, but focusing only on the numbers can ruin the fun for you and your belaying best friends.
    — Emily Abbate, GQ, 20 June 2018
  • Every week, the kid climbers are accompanied by a volunteer mentor—the same person each week, who belays and gives advice and encouragement.
    — Christopher Solomon, Outside Online, 27 Apr. 2018
  • When Tim descended to belay Jason, JJ grabbed him excitedly by the arm.
    — Outside Online, 20 Dec. 2018
  • Over four and a half hours, Rocky Mountain Rescue volunteers were able to stabilize Mackey and belay him down to a wheeled litter.
    — The Editors, Outside Online, 26 May 2015
  • And experience with mountaineering techniques like belaying isn’t required.
    — Jeff Crider, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 May 2017
  • Seeing a reflection of her own Federation in this resistance cell, Burnham belays the order and goes down to the alien surface to confront its leader.
    — Darren Orf, Popular Mechanics, 15 Jan. 2018
  • The entire time Antetokounmpo was delivering this answer, his two toddler boys were waiting just on the other side of the door, clad in footy pajamas that relayed the late hour, and laughing with an exuberance that belayed it.
    — Journal Sentinel, 27 Apr. 2023
  • For most national associations, certification involves demonstrating several years of backcountry skiing experience, belaying experience, and basic alpine climbing systems.
    — Cassidy Randall, Outside Online, 3 Apr. 2018

belay

2 of 2 noun
  • The climber wore, but did not require, the use of a safety belay.
    — Carl Engelking, Discover Magazine, 12 June 2014
  • Most climbers ascending the Grand are protected by belay ropes in case of a fall.
    — Jim Clash, Forbes, 28 Dec. 2024
  • With eight hours of climbing in the rearview mirror, only a single belay pitch stood between her and solid ground.
    — Heather Balogh Rochfort, The Know, 31 Aug. 2019
  • Visitors are secured to the course with an auto belay safety system.
    — Dewayne Bevil, Orlando Sentinel, 28 Mar. 2023
  • The small and lightweight Physic takes up less space on your harness than a traditional belay biner.
    — Owen Clarke, Outside Online, 27 May 2022
  • After drifting to the ground on the auto-belay, Condie looked up at the wall and raised her hands in a gesture of frustration.
    — Julie Jag, The Salt Lake Tribune, 4 Aug. 2021
  • The archetypical belay device is still the best, in my humble opinion.
    — Matt Jancer, WIRED, 1 Sep. 2022
  • Most belay accidents are caused by human error and are easily preventable.
    — Hayden Carpenter, Outside Online, 2 July 2018
  • The bottom climber belays — controlling slack in the rope and arresting falls — and then climbs up after the lead climber finishes the pitch.
    — Peter Fimrite, The Seattle Times, 11 June 2018
  • On belay, McBrayer climbed down from the ridge, searching for hours around wind drifts and shouting in hopes of hearing a reply.
    — Marc Lester, Anchorage Daily News, 6 June 2018
  • But when the duo reached the top, the ice was mostly melted, and the pair were able to save time climbing the peak with a running belay, not stopping to pitch out sections.
    — Corbin Reiff, Outside Online, 22 Oct. 2024
  • This is where knot skills can come in handy, but the display also covers mechanical ascenders and belay devices.
    — Dewayne Bevil, orlandosentinel.com, 27 May 2021
  • Free climbing uses ropes, harnesses and belays only as a means of protection, rather than to assist upward progress.
    — George Ramsay, CNN, 24 June 2019
  • Porta-ledges—hanging platforms that give climbers room to set up a belay station when a flat surface isn't available—are an adventurous choice.
    — Nicole Kliest, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 June 2021
  • People in belay glasses are now routine along the bases of popular walls, like the audience in a 3-D theater.
    — Alison Osius, Outside Online, 22 Aug. 2022
  • Then Bielecki would build a belay stance with ice screws, secure Elisabeth, and let Urubku rappel down to join him.
    — Marcin Jamkowski, Outside Online, 11 Apr. 2018
  • The Revo is the first bidirectional belay device with a true auto-locking mechanism.
    — Hayden Carpenter, Outside Online, 2 July 2018
  • Your partner, the belayer [2], will clip in to the other end using a carabiner attached to a belay device [3], which looks a lot like the front of a pig's nose.
    — Jacqueline Detwiler-George, Popular Mechanics, 16 Mar. 2021
  • Lowe never patented the design, and as a result the tubular belay device design is still made by numerous manufacturers.
    — Andrew Freeman, Outside Online, 21 May 2012
  • These jumps use a belay system to simulate a brief free-fall experience before slowly lowering participants to the ground.
    — Ashley Mahoney, Axios, 9 July 2024
  • Patagonia’s Durable Down Parka is an 800-fill-power down belay jacket with a two-way zipper.
    — Outside, 28 Feb. 2026
  • Treetop Quest features a continuous belay system on its obstacles, of which there are five levels, so even the littlest ones in your family can try something new.
    — Bethany Ao, Philly.com, 9 May 2018
  • Adults can ride the zipline canopy tour, which includes eight ziplines, a swinging sky bridge and treetop towers up to 60 feet all while being attached to a continuous belay system.
    — Hannah Drown, cleveland, 9 June 2021
  • The Raptor comes with removable pick weights and users can add adzes or hammers to the back of the tools for cleaning snow and debris, building a belay station or hammering in pitons or starting ice screws and pro.
    — Chris Meehan, Popular Mechanics, 26 Jan. 2023
  • Combining marijuana and climbing should be done with serious intention and without harming belay partners or fellow climbers.
    — Brendan Bures, chicagotribune.com, 23 Sep. 2019
  • While self-locking carabiners, a harness, and a helmet are needed, other tools commonplace in mountaineering, like ropes and belay devices, are extraneous here.
    — AFAR Media, 30 Sep. 2025
  • Built to withstand the rigors of frigid belays in shady river canyons, the Gore-Tex Infinium outer shell is also water-resistant, breathable, and durable.
    — Drew Zieff, Outside Online, 27 Nov. 2024
  • The site quoted an Idyllwild local who spoke to crews involved in the recovery, and the individual said that one of the climbers was attached to a rope with a belay device, while the other had a belay device but was not attached to the rope.
    — Frederick Dreier, Outside Online, 30 Sep. 2022
  • The special relationship between belay partners is what elevates climbing from a myopic pursuit of personal excellence to a reciprocal experience.
    — Lucie Hanes, Outside Online, 18 Jan. 2025
  • Petzl Grigri Belay Device The best climbing gear is versatile in function, like the Petzl Grigri belay device.
    — Mary Beth Skylis, Travel + Leisure, 7 Aug. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'belay.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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