Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A heavily industrialized area containing older factories, particularly those that are marginally profitable or that have been closed.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun urban areas in New England and Midwest characterized by concentrations of declining industries (steel or textiles)

Etymologies

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Examples

  • I don't know if people like being called the Rust Belt, still.

    CNN Transcript Jun 28, 2007 2007

  • Not all the cities in trouble are aging industrial centers in Rust Belt states.

    Capital Crunch Daniel Fisher 2011

  • The law was designed to stop population loss in Rust Belt cities like Buffalo, Detroit and Cleveland by subsidizing refugee resettlement there.

    Refugees Revitalize Buffalo 2011

  • The law was designed to stop population loss in Rust Belt cities like Buffalo, Detroit and Cleveland by subsidizing refugee resettlement there.

    Refugees Revitalize Buffalo 2011

  • The law was designed to stop population loss in Rust Belt cities like Buffalo, Detroit and Cleveland by subsidizing refugee resettlement there.

    Refugees Revitalize Buffalo 2011

  • This is smaller than in the Rust Belt battlegrounds, where 26 percent to 34 percent of voters belong to union households, but that 20 percent may still make a difference.

    John Russo: Right-to-Work Laws and Working-Class Voters: Another Teachable Moment John Russo 2012

  • Expectations that GM will continue posting record profits also could help the re-election campaign of President Barack Obama, who is touting the auto bailout as a great success, especially in Rust Belt battleground states.

    Target at Post-Bailout GM: Earning $10 Billion a Year Sharon Terlep 2012

  • At stake for Mr. Obama are the white working-class voters in Rust Belt states such as Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania who have been hit hard by the long-term decline in U.S. manufacturing.

    President Visits Union Strongholds Carol E. Lee 2012

  • For an individual interested in documenting the fall of the Rust Belt, Youngstown, Ohio is an essential chapter to that regretful story.

    Randy Fox: Wandering America's Rust Belt: Photographing Youngstown Randy Fox 2011

  • Many of those would come from the utility, mining and railroad sectors, with the heaviest impact falling on Rust Belt states that have many old coal plants—and electoral votes.

    EPA Tangles With New Critic: Labor Stephen Power 2011

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