chest

noun, verb — 13 senses

chest

noun

/t͡ʃɛst/ · SC /t͡ʃɪst/

Etymology From Middle English cheste, chiste, from Old English ċest, ċist (“chest, casket; coffin; rush basket; box”), from Proto-West Germanic *kistu (“chest, box”), from Latin cista (“chest, box”), from Ancient Greek κίστη (kístē, “chest, box, basket, hamper”).

8 senses
  1. 1A box, now usually a large strong box with a secure convex lid.
  2. 2A coffin.
  3. 3The place in which public money is kept; a treasury.
  4. 4A chest of drawers.
  5. 5The portion of the human body from the base of the neck…
  6. 6The front (anterior) surface of this portion of the torso.
  7. 7A female human's breasts.
  8. 8A hit or blow made with one's chest.
1

A box, now usually a large strong box with a secure convex lid.

  • The clothes are kept in a chest.
  • But then I had the [massive] flintlock by me for protection. ¶[…]The linen-press and a chest on the top of it formed, however, a very good gun-carriage; and, thus mounted, aim could be taken out of the window at the old mare feeding in the meadow below by the brook, and a 'bead' could be drawn upon Molly, the dairymaid, kissing the fogger behind the hedge,[…].1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:
2

Obsolete A coffin.

3

The place in which public money is kept; a treasury.

  • You can take the money from the chest.
4

A chest of drawers.

5

Anatomy, Medicine, Sciences The portion of the human body from the base of the neck to the top of the abdomen; the homologous area in some other animals.

  • Holonyms: torso, trunk < body
  • She had a sudden pain in her chest.
1 more example
  • An anteroposterior radiograph found opacities throughout her chest.
6

The front (anterior) surface of this portion of the torso.

  • Holonyms: thorax; torso, trunk
  • He has a tattoo on his chest, and another on his upper back.
1 more example
  • The wild gorilla was beating its chest.
7

Euphemistic A female human's breasts.

  • He avoided being seen gazing at her chest, although he dearly longed to stare.
8

A hit or blow made with one's chest.

  • She scored with a chest into the goal.
Synonyms
breast, trunk
Derived terms
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chest

verb

Etymology From Middle English cheste, chiste, from Old English ċest, ċist (“chest, casket; coffin; rush basket; box”), from Proto-West Germanic *kistu (“chest, box”), from Latin cista (“chest, box”), from Ancient Greek κίστη (kístē, “chest, box, basket, hamper”).

1

To hit with one's chest (front of one's body)

  • Pedersen fed Kalinic in West Brom's defensive third and his chested lay-off was met on the burst by the Canadian who pelted by Tamas and smashed the ball into the top of Myhill's net.2011 January 23, Alistair Magowan, “Blackburn 2 - 0 West Brom”, in BBC:
2

To deposit in a chest.

3

Obsolete To place in a coffin.

4

Africa To handle, deal with.

  • Children being loud and annoying in public is a small price to pay for living and participating in society. Everyone goes through this cycle and you too were once that child. We can’t just lock them indoors. Chest it, sorry.2025 August 2, @ulxma, X:
Derived terms
chest down

chest

noun

Etymology From Middle English chest, cheste, cheeste, cheaste, from Old English ċēast, ċēas (“strife, quarrel, quarrelling, contention, murmuring, sedition, scandal; reproof”). Related to Old Frisian kāse (“strife, contention”), Old Saxon caest (“quarrel, dispute”), Old High German kōsa (“speech, story, account”).

1

Debate; quarrel; strife; enmity.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.