belayverb
uk/ˈbiː.leɪ//bɪˈleɪ/[ I or T ] to control a rope that a climber is attached to and keep it tight, so that if the climber falls, they do not fall very far:
The leader will then belay and instruct the second climber to follow.
[ T ] to make a climber safe with a rope that has been fixed at a particular point:
The knot would let Jim belay himself.
belaynoun [ C ]
/ˈbiː.leɪ//bɪˈleɪ/a place where a climbing rope is or can be fixed:
To the right a tree stump offers a belay.
an act of fixing a climbing rope:
You may need several belays.