waistband

[ weyst-band, -buh nd ]

/ ˈweɪstˌbænd, -bənd /

a band encircling the waist, especially as a part of a skirt or pair of trousers.

Origin of waistband

First recorded in 1575–85; waist + band²

The cop shot and killed Graham, later saying the teen had reached for his waistband.

‘I Can’t Breathe!’ ‘I Can’t Breathe!’ A Moral Indictment of Cop Culture |Michael Daly |December 4, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
When Washington reached into his waistband, the LAPD officers shot him in the head.

Worse Than Eric Garner: Cops Who Got Away With Killing Autistic Men and Little Girls |Emily Shire |December 4, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
He lifted his t-shirt and showed us a long scar, running from sternum to waistband.

Watching ISIS Come to Power Again |Elliot Ackerman |September 7, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
He was wearing a baseball hat, a jacket and jeans with a pistol stuck in his waistband.

Drug Cartel Beauty Queens Face an Ugly End |Michael Daly |February 26, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

He had one of the men up against a fence when he felt something too familiar in the waistband.

VMAs Red Carpet in Brooklyn Wouldn’t Have Been Possible Without NYPD |Michael Daly |August 27, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
I thought of all the things a cop might wear on his waistband, of the utility-belt that DHS guy in the truck had worn.

Little Brother |Cory Doctorow
“I am afraid not,” she answered, looking down for a moment at the buckle in her waistband.

The Missioner |E. Phillips Oppenheim
The pointed bodice only lasted for a few years, when the waistband again became the favourite.

Dress design |Talbot Hughes
You touched a spring in its waistband and it flew open, and then it was a workbox.

Life and Death of Harriett Frean |May Sinclair
We wrapped the body in the sheet which was around its waist, having taken the money from the waistband.

Confessions of a Thug |Philip Meadows Taylor

waistband

/ (ˈweɪstˌbænd) /

an encircling band of material to finish and strengthen a skirt or trousers at the waist