chests

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of chest.

   Antique cedar chests lined the back wall of the auction house.

   The boxers protected their chests with high guards throughout the round.

   Note

   A regular -s plural that carries every meaning of the singular: storage boxes, chests of drawers, the treasury where public money is kept, and the upper front of the body. Context alone tells box from torso. In older writing it can also mean coffins. The identical spelling is the verb form, so after a subject (she chests the ball) the word is a verb, not a plural.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of chest.

   The striker chests the ball down and volleys it past the keeper.

   Whenever a long pass arrives, the captain chests it to a teammate.

   Note

   Several distinct verbs share this one spelling. The first means to strike or control something with the chest. Others mean to put something into a chest, to lay a body in a coffin (now obsolete), and, in African usage, to handle or deal with a matter. The storing, burying and handling senses all take a direct object. Agreement follows the usual pattern: he chests it, they chest it.

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