chest

noun

ˈchest 

1

a

: a container for storage or shipping

especially : a box with a lid used especially for the safekeeping of belongings

b

: a cupboard used especially for the storing of medicines or first-aid supplies

2

: the place where money of a public institution is kept : treasury

also : the fund so kept

3

a

: thorax sense 1

especially : the part of the human body enclosed by the ribs and sternum

b

: breast sense 2a

a hairy chest

chestful

ˈchest-ˌfu̇l 

noun

Synonyms

• locker
• bin
• box
• trunk

Examples of chest in a Sentence

He has a broad chest.

The pain is in my upper chest.

Recent Examples on the Web

Simple pleasure in reading, the childhood delight of hunkering down with a good book and a warm bagel on my chest, sitting sideways on a sunken armchair with my head on its arm, no longer felt possible. —Literary Hub, 12 Sep. 2025

Students in school and college uniforms fell to the ground, some struck in the head and chest. —Sonal Nain, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Sep. 2025

The 63-year-old NBA commissioner who came up under the fire-breathing David Stern, and who has chosen diplomacy over dictatorship since taking over in 2014, doesn’t typically stick his chest out when discussing such matters of governance. —Sam Amick, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2025

This tweed jacket is crafted with a five-button front, collarless crew neckline, and buttoned flap-welt pockets at the chest and hips. —Jamie Allison Sanders, PEOPLE, 11 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English cest, cist chest, box, from Latin cista, from Greek kistē basket, hamper

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing chest

• blanket chest
• chest of drawers
• chest-thumping
• community chest
• get (something) off one's chest
• hold/keep/play (something) close to one's chest
• hope chest
• medicine chest
• play/hold/keep one's cards close to the/one's chest/vest
• sea chest
• slop chest
• steam chest
• treasure chest
• war chest

Rhymes for chest

• blessed
• blest
• breast
• crest
• dressed
• fest
• gest
• geste
• guessed
• jest
• lest
• messed

Kids Definition

chest

noun

ˈchest 

1

: a container (as a box or case) for storing, safekeeping, or shipping

tool chest

linen chest

2

: a public fund

community chest

3

: the part of the body enclosed by the ribs and sternum

chested

ˈches-təd

adjective

chestful

ˈchest-ˌfu̇l 

noun

Medical Definition

chest

noun

ˈchest 

1

: medicine chest

2

: the part of the body enclosed by the ribs and sternum