What does "chest" mean?
A box, now usually a large strong box with a secure convex lid.
Chest
/t͡ʃɛst/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A box, now usually a large strong box with a secure convex lid.
- Grammar: chest is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: thorax, archives, ark, armory.
- Useful contrasts: abdomen, lose control, mis-handle.
- Usage evidence: I'd like you to have a chest X-ray.
How to use "chest"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "chest" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "chest" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "chest" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "chest" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "chest" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "thorax" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "chest", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A box, now usually a large strong box with a secure convex lid.
"The clothes are kept in a chest."
- 2 Debate; quarrel; strife; enmity.
- 3 box with a lid; used for storage; usually large and sturdy wordnet
- 4 A coffin. obsolete
- 5 furniture with drawers for keeping clothes wordnet
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 The place in which public money is kept; a treasury.
"You can take the money from the chest."
- 7 the part of the human torso between the neck and the diaphragm or the corresponding part in other vertebrates wordnet
- 8 A chest of drawers.
- 9 the front of the trunk from the neck to the abdomen wordnet
- 10 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"
- 11 The front (anterior) surface of this portion of the torso.
"Holonyms: thorax; torso, trunk"
- 12 A female human's breasts. euphemistic
"He avoided being seen gazing at her chest, although he dearly longed to stare."
- 13 A hit or blow made with one's chest.
"She scored with a chest into the goal."
Verb
- 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."
- 2 To deposit in a chest. transitive
- 3 To place in a coffin. obsolete, transitive
- 4 To handle, deal with. Africa, transitive
"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."
Proper Noun
- 1 University of Chester, used especially following post-nominal letters indicating status as a graduate.
Antonyms
Example
"I'd like you to have a chest X-ray."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "chest"?
Common synonyms include: thorax, archives, ark, armory, arsenal, attic.
How do you use "chest" in a sentence?
I'd like you to have a chest X-ray.
How do you pronounce "chest"?
Pronounced /t͡ʃɛst/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
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”).
Etymology 2
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”).
Etymology 3
Shortened form of Chester taking all the letters of the first syllable and the first consonant of the second syllable.