chest
chest
Pronunciation
chest: /tʃɛst/
Word Form Variations
Singular Noun: chest
Plural Noun: chests
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Noun
Definition 1: The front part of the human or animal torso, extending from the neck to the abdomen, which encloses the heart and lungs.
Synonyms: thorax, breast (informal, especially for humans)
Antonyms: back (of the body)
Definition 2: A strong box, typically made of wood, used for storage, often with a hinged lid and sometimes for transporting goods.
Synonyms: trunk, coffer, box, crate
Antonyms: (No direct antonyms; perhaps "shelf" or "open container" in a very broad sense, but not a true opposite)
Definition 3: A piece of furniture, often with drawers, used for storing clothes or other items.
Synonyms: dresser, bureau (primarily US), commode (primarily UK, especially for a low chest of drawers)
Antonyms: (No direct antonyms)
Examples of Use
Books: "He felt a dull ache in his chest as he watched her walk away, a familiar pang of regret." (From a contemporary romance novel)
Newspapers: "The patient presented with severe chest pain, prompting immediate medical evaluation at the emergency room." ( The Daily Herald)
Online Publications: "How to build a sturdy wooden chest for outdoor storage: a step-by-step guide for DIY enthusiasts." ( Home & Garden Today website)
Entertainment Mediums (Film/TV): In a historical drama, a character might declare, "We must protect this treasure chest at all costs, for it holds the kingdom's future!"
Entertainment Platforms (Video Games): In many role-playing games, players frequently encounter "loot chests" containing valuable items, gold, or equipment.
General Public Discourse: "I need to clear out my old chest of drawers; it's overflowing with clothes I no longer wear."
10 Quotes Using Chest
"The human heart, at whatever age, is a chest of wonders." (Edith Wharton)
"A good book is the best of friends, the same today and forever. It is the most patient of teachers and the most cheerful of companions. It is the truest of comforters and the most faithful of counsellors. It is the most constant of solace and the most inspiring of guides. It is the most reliable of helps and the most trustworthy of confidants. It is the most certain of assurances and the most precious of treasures. It is a chest of gold, a paradise of flowers, a garden of delights, a library of wisdom." (Charles W. Eliot)
"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear; the brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all, and so they have never truly lived, but merely existed, a walking tomb, a beating chest of fear." (Amelia Earhart)
"Into each life some rain must fall, some days must be dark and dreary, some burdens heavy on the chest, some tears shed." (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)
"A man's best possession is a loyal friend, a woman's best treasure is a true love, and the greatest riches in the world are held within a loving chest." (Proverb)
"He who has a why to live can bear almost any how, and for those without a why, life is but a hollow chest filled with dust and shadows." (Friedrich Nietzsche)
"When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that all the dunces are in confederacy against him, seeking to bury his brilliance in a forgotten chest." (Jonathan Swift)
"Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all, even when the wind howls and the cold bites, its melody still fills the chest." (Emily Dickinson)
"The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider's web, a broken chest." (Pablo Picasso)
"Let's be careful out there; the world is a dangerous place, and sometimes the greatest dangers lie hidden within a human chest." (Sergeant Phil Esterhaus, Hill Street Blues)
Etymology
The word "chest" has a really interesting history because it started out meaning one thing and then developed another, very different meaning!
Its very first known use, going way back to Old English (before 1150 AD), was to describe a "box, coffer, or casket," usually a large one with a hinged lid. Think of a treasure chest, a toy chest, or even a coffin – these all fit that original "box" meaning. This comes from the Proto-Germanic word "kista", which itself was borrowed from the Latin word "cista", meaning "chest, box," and even further back from the Greek word "kistē", meaning "a box, basket." So, essentially, it's always been about a container.
Then, around the 14th century (specifically around 1400 AD), the word "chest" started being used to refer to the "thorax," or the upper part of the human body (the part from your neck to your belly that holds your heart and lungs). This happened because people thought of the rib cage as a sort of "box" that protects these important organs. It gradually replaced the word "breast" in this general anatomical sense.
So, while today we commonly use "chest" for both the body part and a type of furniture/box, the "box" meaning came first!
Phrases + Idioms Containing Chest
Chest of drawers: A piece of furniture with several drawers for storing clothes.
Get something off one's chest: To tell someone about something that has been worrying you, so that you feel better.
Beat one's chest: To show triumph or anger, often in an exaggerated way.
A full chest: Referring to a feeling of deep satisfaction or pride.
Chest-thumping: Boasting or showing aggressive self-assertion.
Chest voice: In singing, the lower vocal register that resonates in the chest.
Make a clean chest of it: To confess everything.
Heavy on the chest: Describing something that feels oppressive or burdensome.
Puff out one's chest: To stand or sit proudly, often to show confidence or defiance.
To have a chest like a barrel: To have a very broad and strong chest.
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of chest from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
