# chest

Pronunciation: US say "CHEST" /t͡ʃɛst/; UK

## Noun

1. The front part of the body between the neck and the stomach, containing the heart and lungs; the matching part in some animals.
   - Simple: The front of your body between your neck and your stomach.
   - _The X-ray showed a shadow on her chest._
   - _A gorilla's chest is broad and heavily muscled._
2. A box, typically a large sturdy one with a secure, curved lid.
   - Simple: A large, strong box for storing or carrying things.
   - _Pirates were said to bury their gold in a heavy chest._
   - _The sailor locked his belongings inside a brass-bound chest._
3. A piece of furniture fitted with a set of stacked drawers, used mainly for storing clothes.
   - Simple: A piece of furniture with drawers for keeping clothes.
   - _He kept his socks in the top drawer of the chest._
   - _The antique chest had five drawers with brass handles._
4. The breasts of a woman, considered as a body feature.
   - Simple: A woman's breasts.
   - _The tailored blouse emphasized her chest._
   - _She bought a sports bra to support her chest while running._
5. The place where public money is held; a treasury or store of common funds.
   - Simple: A store of money kept for a town, group, or country to use.
   - _By spring, the group's war chest held enough to cover a full year of legal fees._
   - _When war threatened, the king emptied the royal chest to hire soldiers._
7. A strike or contact made using one's chest, as when controlling a ball in soccer.
   - Simple: A hit made by using the front of your body.
   - _Her first touch was a clean chest that dropped the ball at her feet._
   - _A well-timed chest knocked the high ball down to his teammate._

## Verb

6. To strike or bring down a ball using one's chest.
   - Simple: To hit something using the front of your body.
   - _He chested the ball into space and ran onto it._
   - _Forwards learn to chest crosses down for a teammate._
9. To handle or deal with something. *(Africa)*
   - Simple: To take care of or deal with something.
   - _When the landlord raised the rent again, she had no choice but to chest it and find extra work._
   - _He never complained about the long shifts; he just chested it like everyone else._

## Noun

8. Debate or quarrel; strife or enmity between parties. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: An argument or angry disagreement between people.
10. A coffin; a box in which a dead body is buried. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A box that holds a dead body for burial.

## Verb

11. To place a dead body in a coffin. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To put a dead body into a coffin.

## Other meanings

- (verb) To store or deposit something inside a chest.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–7, 9–11** — From Middle English cheste, from Old English ċest, ċist ("chest, casket, coffin, box"), from Proto-West Germanic *kistu, borrowed from Latin cista ("chest, box"), which itself came from Ancient Greek κίστη (kístē, "chest, box, basket").
**Meaning 8** — From Middle English chest, cheste, from Old English ċēast, ċēas ("strife, quarrel, contention"), related to Old Frisian kāse ("strife, contention") and Old Saxon caest ("quarrel, dispute").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/chest (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).